A $1.2 million federal loan for an alleged Maine organic farm is raising suspicion as the company does not seem to exist.
According to our media partners at the Portland Press Herald, the substantial loan is part of the federal Paycheck Protection Program. It was paid to Common Ground Organic Farm LLC, based in Bridgton. But apparently, there is no such business registered in Maine.
According to the Press Herald, the local insurance firm that owns and occupies the business address listed for Common Ground in the SBA records said it has never heard of a business by that name.
The bank listed as the lender on the emergency loan disclosure said it never made a loan to the company.
The loan raised eyebrows among some in Maine’s organic farming community when it was discovered in a database of Maine companies that received emergency loans larger than $150,000. The database accompanied a story published in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
NEWS CENTER Maine is following this story and will update when more information is available.
