The Strand will pay nearly $1.5 million to settle federal claims over a pandemic loan it wasn't eligible for

The Strand, the Broadway bookstore known for its "18 miles of books," has agreed to pay $1,482,560 to resolve federal claims that it took a pandemic relief loan it was not allowed to get, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced Tuesday, CNBC and Gothamist reported.

What prosecutors say

In February 2021, the Strand applied for and received a $932,350 "second draw" loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, the forgivable loan program the Small Business Administration ran to help businesses keep paying workers during the pandemic. When Congress funded that second round in December 2020, it barred businesses in which a member of Congress or a member's spouse held a controlling interest, directly or indirectly.

The Strand's controlling owner is Nancy Bass Wyden, who is married to Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, as quoted by CNBC, she certified on the application that "the spouse of a Member of Congress does not directly or indirectly hold a controlling interest in the applicant," and that certification was "knowingly and materially false."

The settlement amount is roughly 1.6 times the loan. The office noted that the False Claims Act lets the government establish liability based on reckless disregard and recover more than its actual losses, CNBC reported. The claims are allegations, and the settlement includes no determination of liability.

What the Strand says

The store calls it an honest error. In a statement to CNBC, it said the restriction was passed between the first and second rounds of the program and that "the bookstore's accountant and the bank administering the loan were not aware of this change when the second-draw application was processed." It said the mistake was unintentional and asked that the matter be judged "free from political considerations."

A Strand spokesperson told Gothamist the money was returned as soon as the store learned of the problem. Gothamist said the store had not answered whether it repaid the original $932,350 or the larger settlement amount. A spokesman for Sen. Wyden told CNBC that the senator and his wife do not discuss her business and that he had no involvement in the loan or the settlement.

Who brought the case

The case started as a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act, which lets private parties sue on the government's behalf and share in any recovery. It was filed in federal court in Washington by a company called Blockquote Inc., which will receive about $148,256, CNBC reported. The docket is sealed, and the company's owners were not disclosed.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, appointed by President Donald Trump, said the program "was created to save American jobs, not to enrich those who aren't eligible for taxpayer-funded relief." Sen. Wyden is an outspoken critic of the president, both outlets noted.

Background

Ben Bass, Nancy Bass Wyden's grandfather, founded the Strand in 1927 in Greenwich Village, and it moved about 30 years later to its current corner at Broadway and East 12th Street, according to Gothamist. The store has been open about money troubles before: in March 2021 a spokesperson told New York magazine that limited sales and a PPP loan were the only things keeping staff paid, Gothamist noted. Its roughly 110 unionized workers went on strike in December 2024 before reaching a tentative contract.