Publicly traded companies and firms that have been penalized in the past by the federal government were among those that received millions of dollars in loans from a coronavirus relief fund designed for small businesses, The Associated Press found in a new investigation.

The AP reports that at least 75 companies that received aid through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were publicly traded. Some had market values of more than $100 million, and a quarter of the companies warned investors that their chances of remaining in business were not strong. 

The 75 companies received a combined $300 million in the loans, according to the news service’s review of regulatory filings. Five of the companies were previously under investigation by regulators, including several that paid penalties to settle allegations.

Eight of the companies or their subsidiaries received the maximum $10 million possible under the PPP, which ran out of money Thursday. One of those businesses, a California software company, settled a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation last year into overstated revenue, the AP reported.

The AP’s investigation also found examples of companies with foreign owners and ones that were delisted or were threatened with delisting from U.S. stock exchanges due to poor performances. Some of the companies had also reported years of losses.

One company, Wave Life Sciences USA Inc., a Boston-area biotechnology company that develops pharmaceuticals, received a $7.2 million loan, the AP noted. The business’s parent company is based in Singapore and reported net losses of $102 million, $147 million and $194 million over the last three fiscal years, according to the news service. 

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