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The Strand, the iconic New York bookstore, agreed to pay nearly $1.5 million in a civil settlement to accept a Covid government loan that was off-limits because the store is owned by the wife of Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C

The Strand applied for the $932,350 loan in February 2021 from the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the Small Business Administration, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said Tuesday.

Store owner Nancy Bass Wyden certified in the loan application that “the spouse of a congressman does not, directly or indirectly, own a controlling interest in the applicant,” Pirro’s office said.

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“Ms. Wyden’s certification was knowingly and materially false and Strand was ineligible for the second loan he received,” the office said.

The Strand will pay $1,482,560 to settle the case. There was no finding of liability from the store, Pirro’s office said.

The Strand said in a statement that the business made an “inadvertent” error in applying for the loan and that it was unaware of it at the time the funds were blocked from businesses owned by a congressman’s wife.

Bass Wyden’s husband, who has served in the Senate for more than 30 years, is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, who appointed Pirro as the top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

Bass Wyden is the granddaughter of Ben Bass, the founder of Strand, whose flagship store is in Greenwich Village.

Congress authorized the forgivable PPP loans when it passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020.

In December 2020, Congress provided additional funding for the PPP loan program through separate legislation that “included a prohibition on businesses from receiving second-round PPP funds if a member of Congress or his or her spouse directly or indirectly held a controlling interest in the PPP loan applicant,” Pirro’s office said.

Customers line up to buy books at Strand Bookstore in New York, United States, on November 1, 2020.

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In a statement Tuesday, Pirro said, “The Paycheck Protection Program was created to save American jobs, not to enrich those ineligible for taxpayer-funded relief, particularly the wife of a U.S. senator.”

Her office found that the False Claims Act, which Strand was alleged to have violated, “allows the government to establish liability on the basis of reckless disregard and allows the government to recover more than its actual losses,” which was the case in this case.

The civil settlement resolved claims brought in a so-called qui tam lawsuit, which allows private whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the U.S. government and receive a portion of compensation.

The qui tam action in this case was filed by a corporation, Blockquote Inc., in U.S. District Court in Washington. Blockquote, whose owners were not disclosed by Pirro’s office, will receive a total share of approximately $148,256 in connection with the settlement.

Blockquote’s lawsuit file is protected from public access.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

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The Strand said in a statement after CNBC reached out to the store and Bass Wyden for comment that the restriction the store violated was passed by Congress between the first and second rounds of the PPP.

“Unfortunately, the bookstore’s accountant and the bank servicing the loan were unaware of this change when the second draw application was processed,” Strand said.

“We stand by the facts: the circumstances occurred during an unprecedented and rapidly changing health emergency, the error was inadvertent,” the store said. “We hope that this matter will be viewed objectively and in the proper context, with the understanding that the application of justice should always be fair, impartial and free from political considerations,” the store said.

A spokesman for Senator Wyden’s office said that the senator and his wife had not discussed their business and that he was not involved in the loan or its settlement.