Nevada brothel owner awarded federal relief to support business amid coronavirus lockdown, but funds on hold
Bella Cummins, the owner of a legitimate small business in Nevada, was initially refused an emergency loan under stimulus money during the COVID-19 pandemic, as per reports. The reason being that her business was a brothel.
The CARES Act doesn't make any distinction between moral or immoral business as long as they are lawful, and brothels in Nevada are lawful. Cummins was eventually allowed to apply for the loan, although there are certain restrictions when it comes to giving stimulus money to an overstimulating business.
Cummins has now been granted a federal emergency loan to keep her Wells, Nevada-based brothel, Bella’s Hacienda Ranch, up and running during the mandated shut down to control the spread of the pandemic, despite being a non-essential business. However, Brian Bahouth, contributor of The Sierra Nevada Ally said that funding is not currently available.
The Small Business Administration at the Nevada State Bank that Cummins approached for monetary assistance has notified her that her application for the Paycheck Protection Program for approximately $70,000 has been approved but the funds have been put on hold. The reason for this remains uncertain as it could either be due to the nature of her business or simply because of a hold up in the program. The bank also informed her that about 25 percent of the federal stimulus money is a grant and the remainder is a loan devoid of interest.
Since Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada called for all non-essential businesses to shut down during the pandemic, Cummins has allowed a handful of the worker to shelter at Bella's Hacienda Ranch in Wells, Nevada
Of all the lawful business in Nevada, Cummins' brothel could face multiple problems in recovering from the pandemic because it greatly defies the social distancing rules that have been imposed by the government. Social distancing would be the opposite of how the work transpires in a hotel. Since Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada called for all non-essential businesses to shut down during the pandemic, Cummins has allowed a handful of the worker to shelter at her brothel.
“It was interesting … that the bank … wanted to tell me that I wasn’t going to qualify and they weren’t going to send it in. I said, ‘the CARES relief Act has no restrictions,’ and I said, ‘of course, the Small Business Administration would have a restriction pertaining to the brothel business, however, this isn’t the case,” Cummins told KUNR.
The SBA has guidelines for three types of emergency and The Sierra Nevada Ally couldn't find a single CARES Act or an SBA guideline that prevents a brothel from applying for monetary relief.
Sandi Milton, a spokesperson for Stated Bank of Nevada, told KUNR over email that the bank didn't find a clause that restricts a brothel from applying either. Cummins revealed that her business has always faced external difficulties in terms of culture, but she's fortunate that the bank processed her application, in the end.
“It isn’t about them coming up with a decision on how they think or feel, it’s about following a federal policy,” she elaborated. Cummins went on to say that her business has never been granted a loan, in the past 30 years.
However, the bank has asked Cummins to write to Nevada's Congressional delegation to facilitate the allocation of the additional funds for her business.
We had earlier reported that Cummins plans to reopen her business amid the coronavirus pandemic and wants to be "proactive and transparent" in putting a plan into place.