Six individuals, including the schemes mastermind, Darrell Thomas, have pleaded guilty. (Shutterstock) ATLANTA Federal fraud charges were filed against. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time and uses a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds for payroll expenses. is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and it only maintains a fully equipped office in Dallas and Houston. Ricky Dixon, 52, of Warren, Michigan, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering in connection with his involvement in the loan obtained by his business, RK Painting Co., and several other businesses loans. Federal auditors and investigators will view these types of activities with skepticism, and as potential evidence of an attempt to either fraudulently obtain a PPP loan or use PPP loan funds for unauthorized purposes. East Texas Man and the Online Name Generator (Texas May 19), 5. In order to account for all disbursements from their PPP loans, companies should deposit their loans into distinct accounts, and they should not commingle their PPP loan funds with any other company assets. A pair of Georgia businesses are in hot water over fraud allegations related to their PPP loans. Kao allegedly transferred $2 million to personal accounts. The Cryptocurrency Investor (Texas July 14), 25. Ex-Microsoft Executive (Washington July 23), 28. Ultimately Ugarte received funds from Transportation Alliance Bank. Larry Jordan and Sutukh El, two brothers, are charged with fraudulent PPP loan applications to the tune of $7 million, and actually receiving over $600,000. Seven Charged in Fraud Ring (South Carolina September 10), 47. To support these payroll figures, each businesss loan application was accompanied by an Internal Revenue Service Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes, for each quarter of 2019 and by a bank statement or a spreadsheet reflecting payroll expenses. Las Vegas Man Hits 7 Different Lenders (Nevada January 28, 2021), 79. Lee Price 3rd in Houston defrauded SBA of $1.6 million despite a 14 year record of crimes. Denesseria Slaton, pleaded guilty on June 16, 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with the loan obtained by Transportation Management Services Inc. Slatons sentencing is set for October 6, 2021. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga. A Swimming Pool and Money Abroad (Minnesota November 16), 67. The Justice Department alleges that George submitted identical wage information and employee count records for two separate companies, one of which was out of business since 2015. Government money always attracts a small number of fraudsters, grifters, and criminals. A 2020 Bentley Continental and Cadillac Escalade (New York December 21), 77. We Will Protect Your Rights, Reputation and Freedom. However, the Government watchdog also recommended oversight of the 4 million smaller loans. Brandon Casutt of Henderson, Nevada, is charged with EIDL and PPP fraud to the tune of $500,000. - Federal Lawyer We Will Protect Your Rights, Reputation and Freedom. Made Down Payments on Million Dollar Homes (California November 18), 69. Through August 8, 2020, when the first Paycheck Protection Program PPP program closed, the SBA approved 5,212,128 loans. After obtaining a second search warrant for the cell phones, USPIS inspectors uncovered hundreds of text messages and photos related to an additional crime, fraudulent EIDL and PPP business loans. This comes as federal prosecutors in Georgia continue to make new arrests for PPP fraud. On January 4, 2021, the DOJ announced that Georgia resident Hunter VanPelt, also known as Ellen Corkrum, was sentenced to nearly 3.5 years in prison (41 months) for PPP loan fraud. I was put on furlough for almost 2 months from mid April to end of June. On March 27, 2020, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, andEconomic Security(CARES)Act authorizing the low-interest, forgivable loans. Katie Quarterman, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, Nikia Wakefield, 42, of Rockville, Maryland, and. What to do if the SBA doesnt forgive your loanhttps://www.schwabe.com/newsroom-publications-a-guide-to-the-sba-ppp-loan-forgiveness-review-process. The pair are charged with submitting 18 fraudulent Paycheck Protection applications with false payroll tax returns, and receiving $1.4 million. He is charged with false statements to a financial institution, bank fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. Authorities seized the Range Rover, worth about $125,000, jewelry, $120,000 in cash, and $3 million from 10 bank accounts. This owner of a wedding planning company is charged with submitting two PPP applications, and claiming to have 120 employees when he actually had none. DOJ prosecutors may also pursue civil penalties, not just criminal prosecutions, particularly around loan forgiveness. Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! IT Services Company Owner (Massachusetts June 22), 15. Legitimate small companies and self-employed individuals needed speed. After the PPP loan proceeds were deposited into the businesses accounts, the businesses transferred more than $5.5 million of the PPP loan proceeds into accounts controlled by Darrell Thomas, purportedly for rental payments and payroll. Woman Achieves Distinction as 50th Defendant Charged with PPP Fraud (Florida September 3), 46. Bank of America PPP loans class action overview: Who: Three small businesses are suing Bank of America over its management of PPP loans. Former Senior Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Justice, Former U.S. Attorney & Former District Attorney. Most of the funds are going to help the nations 31 million small businesses. Businesses that have to repay the loan get 2 years to repay if funding was issued before June 5. Even if only one PPP loan was obtained, attempting to obtain more than one loan can still lead to criminal prosecution. You can also check to see how many workers companies receiving the assistance said they kept on the payroll. They are accused of using the cash for personal purchases including a Mercedes-Benz S-Class S65AMG and a Land Rover Range Rover. Man Uses Aliases to Seek $22 Million (California October 2), 56. Handmade Entrepreneur (Arkansas July 16), 27. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Nathan Kitchens of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Lauren Marcel Duhart, Joshua Bernard Smith, Steve Ronald Lewis, Christopher J. Agard, Henry Duffield, Jeremy Brandon Latourneau, Derick Keane were charged in an indictment with laundering $750,000 obtained fraudulently, including over $390,000 from a PPP loan. Hollywood Film Producer (California May 22), 7. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Small Business Administration-Office of the Inspector General. Also, the EIDL loan application date has been extended through 2021. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. He was approved for $3.9 million. Ngoc Manh Nguyen, Victoria Dieuy Ho, and Dat Tat Ho were charged for allegedly having misrepresented employee payroll figures to receive $13 million in COVID-19 loan funds. Unfortunately, the owners of Victoria Nails & Spa saw this program as their own personal piggy bank.. Providing false statements to gain access to SBAs programs will be aggressively investigated by our office, said Hannibal Ware, Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration, in a statement. All visitors to this Website are informed that Oberheiden P.C. Reality TV Personality (Georgia May 13), 4. Assistant U.S. Although the amount of the loans, $9,400 and $20,800, are not as large as some on the list, United States government agencies are not giving them any slack. I was eventually permanently laid off at the end of June. Arman Manukyan, a San Fernando Valley man, is charged with fraudulently obtaining an $867,000 loan for a shell sewing company, Argo Global. He was arrested after he booked a same-day flight to Pakistan. I want to thank the U.S. Attorneys Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.. Main Office: However, in conjunction with the submission of an EIDL application, by having clicked on and checked a box within the on-line application, an applicant could request and then receive up to $10,000.00, an EIDL Advance which did not have to be repaid. Along with its application requirements, the CARES Act also establishes requirements for how companies use, and account for the use of, PPP loan funds. If you got funding after June 5, you have five years to repay. Vegas Business Owner (Nevada August 13), 37. Fewer than 150 defendants out of of over 5.2 million loans is a minuscule percentage. One defendant was so brazen he allegedly posted a rap video online flashing $100 bills. The defendants are charged with using fake and stolen identifies to apply for 35 CARES Act loans. 2023 Oberheiden P.C. Due to a high volume of calls, we are unable to take on more PPP clients at this time. Transferred $335k to Personal Accounts (California -October 29), 63. In that same time frame, Lawson allegedly submitted 11 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of many of the same individuals in an attempt to obtain at least $224,000. So youre really that miserable that you would call and report someone ? Check Out These 30 eCommerce Web Design Ideas, Stop Worrying About Mobile Ad Fraud Thanks to This New Tool, Shutterstock Revenue for 2015 Sees 30 Percent Increase, Pairing People with Platforms for Better CX, How to Protect Your Small Business from the Latest Scam -- A More Elaborate 419 Fraud, See the SBA website for updated forgiveness information, David Staveley, aka Kurt D. Sanborn, and David Butziger were charged with conspiring to seek over $530,000 in PPP money. Inadequate or questionable documentation submitted in support of a request for PPP loan forgiveness is another huge red flag, and companies accused of submitting fraudulent forgiveness requests can face a variety of federal charges.. When the SBA-OIG or DOJ launches an investigation, executing an effective and timely defense is imperative. So far, six. Manhattan Businessman (New York May 21), 6. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. He had been removed by the Board of Directors from his company in 2019, yet submitted an application in the name of Crosscode dba Kloudgaze. He received over half a million dollars in PPP funds, and allegedly put a down payment on a pool and transferred money to a financial account in India. And the DOJ has made it a priority to root them out. The PPP promissory note you signed will have the terms applicable to you. A Cessna Aircraft and a Lexus (Virginia October 20), 59. Related:Why the Small Business Administration loan program frustrates borrowers, Previous PPP stories:More than 5,000 PPP loans, totaling more than $200m, approved in Clarke County, Database: Click here to search our PPP loan database. Cherry was on supervised release in an unrelated federal case when he applied to the Small Business Administration program. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Find an attorney to defend youhttps://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practice/white-collar-crimes Well at least the Feds got that back. The indictment alleges Kanan was under federal indictment on an unrelated matter at the time. Why: The plaintiffs say the bank misled small business owners into taking out pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loans that would not be forgiven by the government. At Oberheiden P.C., we are actively representing companies with regard to PPP compliance during the coronavirus pandemic, and we are representing companies in PPP loan fraud audits and investigations as well. Suite 600 Sum of Current Approval Amount. For a quick overview, this infographic tells the story of what happens when the funds are misused in a PPP loan fraud. The two allegedly worked together on the scheme (mighty neighborly of them!). Fraudsters like Benjamin Hayford greedily steal money that should be going to Americas small business owners who are struggling during this public health crisis, said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. Tv Personality ( Georgia May 13 ), 4 lee Price 3rd in Houston defrauded SBA $! 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