So you know how the $349 billion allotted to the Paycheck Protection Program disappeared in a little over a week, leaving thousands of desperate small businesses in the lurch in the worst economy since the Depression? And you remember how, soon after, we started hearing about how Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Shake Shack and other big-ass greedy companies had figured out ways to cash in on a program ostensibly designed to help out the little guys? (After being lambasted in the media, they gave the money back.)

The good news is another $310 billion became available Monday, this time with stricter rules and a stronger emphasis on community lenders. The bad news is it probably won’t be enough; it might be gone by the time you read this. But that’s a discussion for another day. 

Corporations, being publicly traded, have to disclose these loans to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which makes them public records. The Washington, D.C.-based data analytics firm FactSquared combed through them and compiled a list of more than 200 corporations that had received PPP money, usually in the millions of dollars. 

We combed through that list and found five corporations from North Carolina that accepted a total of $20,170,505 in PPP money. One of them, fearing it had run afoul of the Treasury Department’s rules, has already returned the funds. The others have not. 

Air T, Inc.

Ticker: AIRT (Nasdaq)

Located: Denver, NC

Market cap: $35.03 million

F/T employees: 769

What it does: Overnight air cargo, ground equipment sales/support, commercial aircraft, more.

Date of report: April 10

Loan amount: $8.22 million

What it says: Air T did not respond to a request for comment.

Culp, Inc.

Ticker: CULP (NYSE)

Located: High Point

Market cap: $87.15 million

F/T employees: 1,440

What it does: Markets fabrics for mattresses and upholstery.

Date of report: April 15

Loan amount: $7.6 million

What it says: Culp did not respond to a request for comment.

Novan, Inc.

Ticker: NOVN (Nasdaq)

Located: Morrisville

Market cap: $25.92 million

F/T employees: 41

What it does: Clinical-stage biotech company that focuses on the development of nitric oxide-based therapies to treat dermatological and oncovirus-mediated diseases.

Date of report: April 17

Loan amount: $955,800

What it says: Novan declined to comment. In its SEC filing, the company pointed out that on February 24, Nasdaq notified Novan that its stock had traded under $1 for the last 30 days, putting it at risk of delisting. On Monday afternoon, it was trading at 38 cents a share.

Ballantyne Strong, Inc.

Ticker: BTN (NYSE)

Located: Charlotte

Market cap: $23 million

F/T employees: 290

What it does: Holding company that owns subsidiaries and investments in several sectors, including cinema products and services, digital signage, advertising, and insurance.

Date of report: April 13

Loan amount: $3.17 million (returned)

What it says: Ballantyne returned the loan on April 23, saying that while it “has less than 300 employees and continues to be severely impacted by the disruption to the cinema, theme park, and advertising industries as a result of COVID-19,” it was returning the funds “out of an abundance of caution and in light of the new guidance” from the Treasury Department.

Innovate Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Ticker: INNT (Nasdaq)

Located: Raleigh

Market cap: $27.24 million

F/T employees: 8

What it does: A clinical-stage biotech company that develops medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

Date of report: April 21

Loan amount: $220,205

What it says: Innovate did not respond to a request for comment.

Contact editor in chief Jeffrey C. Billman at [email protected].

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