New York 's beloved Strand Bookstore will pay back nearly $1.5 million after improperly applying for and receiving a pandemic-era small business loan even though it wasn't eligible, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.

According to the DOJ, the Strand was ineligible because the owner, Nancy Bass Wyden, is the wife of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon . The DOJ announced the settlement Tuesday.

In 2021, the Strand applied for a second draw loan of $932,350 from the Paycheck Protection Program , which required applicants to certify that a member of Congress did not have a direct or indirect controlling interest in the business. The bookstore had previously received a PPP loan in 2020, but that money did not require the same certification.

“The Paycheck Protection Program was created to save American jobs, not to enrich those who aren’t eligible for taxpayer-funded relief, especially the wife of a U.S. Senator,” said U.S.…