DealBook’s Inaugural Helpline, “Running a Business During the Covid-19 Pandemic”

Pillsbury partner Steve Amdur was a guest speaker on DealBook’s inaugural Helpline, “Running a Business During the Covid-19 Pandemic” along with Gene Marks, president of The Marks Group. Hosted by DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin and DealBook editor Jason Karaian, the discussion answers pressing questions while providing guidance for individuals and businesses on how to navigate these unprecedented times.

“There will be a tremendous amount of attention and scrutiny placed on people applying for these loans after the dust settles,” said Amdur. “Given that borrowers and their backers must provide plans and statements about why they need the money, I certainly would expect that prominent hedge funds, private equity firms, venture capital firms are thinking about this, and the ones that aren’t I think are either being greedy or foolish, or both.”

“There is no easier target for a prosecutor and for a false claims act prosecution, than a cash-rich company or investor needlessly applying for an emergency loan,” said Amdur. “We should assume that the loan applications will eventually be discoverable by Freedom of Information Act requests.”

Listen to the full conversation.