Spokane dermatologist William Philip Werschler, 66, and his associated businesses have agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve claims of COVID-19 relief-funds misuse. 

According to a press release form the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, the settlement agreement, which includes $700,000 in restitution, will resolve claims under the False Claims Act related to alleged misspending of funds intended to benefit struggling businesses during the pandemic. 

Werschler admits no wrongdoing as part of the agreement, and the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently dismissed and can't be refiled.

The three businesses owned by Werschler include Spokane Dermatology Clinic, Premier Clinical Research LLC, and 3^rd & Sherman Plaza LLC. 

As reported previously in the Journal, a federal jury indicted Werschler and associated businesses in October of 2024 on 23 counts of fraud in connection with how Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds were spent.

Werschler and the associated businesses received a total of $2.9 million in relief funds between April 2020 and July 2022. 

The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act was a federal law enacted on March 27, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EIDL program was one source of relief provided by the CARES ACT through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The program provided low-interest funding to small businesses, renters, and homeowners affected by declared disasters.