The total approved was over $525 billion, demonstrating its success. PPP Loan Fraud List | Who Got a PPP Loan? A lock ( Also, the EIDL loan application date has been extended through 2021. Have we seen the last of Paycheck Protection Program PPP loan fraud prosecutions? When the SBA-OIG or DOJ launches an investigation, executing an effective and timely defense is imperative. Some of the law enforcement agencies involved in investigating are: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Office of Inspector General; Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), and the FBI. Uzoamaka Leonard Ohaebosim was charged for allegedly falsifying payroll documents to obtain $1.2 million for his movie company, Spite the Movie. Law enforcement recovered all the proceeds. Still, a June 2020 report by the Government Accountability Office found, there is a significant risk that some fraudulent or inflated applications were approved. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin then announced that the Treasury Department would review loan recipients over $2 million. In such a case, a client will sign an engagement exclusively with the Local Counsel. This case is being investigated by the U.S. The complaint alleges Smith bought a $96K Ferrari and other luxury items and withdrew $271,805 in loan proceeds. Fewer than 150 defendants out of of over 5.2 million loans is a minuscule percentage. Fake Sewing Company Owner Fled Country (Los Angeles August 11), 36. Subscribe to The Federal Docket to keep on top of recent cases and important developments in federal criminal law. Once Quarterman and her co-conspirator, Katrina Lawson, who is a former deputy sheriff for Fulton County, Georgia and is still a certified peace officer, became familiar with the requirements and applications for the EIDL program and the PPP, they allegedly devised a scheme to submit fraudulent business loan applications on behalf of their friends and family who did not actually own businesses. Atlanta, GA 30303-3309. Rahul Shah of Evanston is charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. He also allegedly used the money to pay $50,000 for restitution in a previous fraud case, $40,000 in back child support, $139,000 to lease a Rolls Royce Wraith and $230,000 to associates who helped him run a Ponzi scheme. A $106K Mercedes and a Ford F-250 (Florida October 23), 61. This means you have to be just as scrupulous when applying for forgiveness as when you applied for the loan initially. Part of the scheme allegedly involved a cystic fibrosis foundation he ran, called Skylar CF Foundation. Official websites use .gov U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said in a statement, I am pleased that the systems designed to detect and deny fraudulent payments caught his scheme before federal funds went out the door.. Fugitive defendant who fled during trial convicted by federal jury for laundering millions of dollars stolen from fraud victims throughout the U.S. 10 Defendants Indicted In Multi State, Fraudulent COVID 19 Related Business Loan Scheme. If your company received a PPP loan, is it at risk? According to the U.S. Law enforcement assisting in the investigation included the Small Business Administration OIG office, the FBI, FDIC and others. Thomas is from Duluth. Five others pleaded guilty in this $3,000,000 ring: Antonio D. Hosey, Timothy Williams, Stanley Dorceus, Kenneth L. Wright, Jr., and Mark A. Stewart. Or do you want to know whichcompanies got taxpayer-fundedloans? Argires allegedly invested some of the proceeds in a cryptocurrency account and withdrew cash via ATM transactions. Ronald Bell, who conspired to extort money from Georgia Institute of Technology, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. Allegedly Hsu applied in the names of current and former employees, and incorporated a fake company also. Which goes to show that most of the defendants arent very smart. 2023 Oberheiden P.C. He then went on a buying extravaganza, spending on a Tesla, a Bentley, two condominiums, and paying his home mortgage. On January 14, 2021, Judge J.P. Boulee sentenced Green to three years and five months imprisonment and five years of supervised release, and Judge Boulee ordered him to pay $830,000 in restitution, forfeiture of $157,035.71, and a special assessment of $100. He allegedly got $22,000 which he then deposited partially into a personal account and partially gave to another company in furtherance of a $5.6 million Medicare kickback scheme. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the governments burden to prove the defendants guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Someone we know got 4 PPP loans, all under diff businesses, but almost certain he submitted all the same ppwk for each business. He allegedly laundered funds he received by writing checks for $8,330 each to 23 people. (March 30), Consolidated Augusta government's American Rescue Plan payment doubles to $84 million, Why the Small Business Administration loan program frustrates borrowers, Augusta-area physicians, clinics also able to tap into PPP loans, Click here to search our PPP loan database, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. She is alleged to have obtained nearly $600,000. Forged account statements. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, New Jersey, was charged for submitting a fraudulent application for a real estate development company, and falsified payroll data. The complaint alleges George provided false and misleading documents and apparently couldnt keep his fake employees straight. PRIDE Kickball Spring '23 League - Registration Deadline March 9th, Colony Roofers offers services in the Atlanta area, 5 Atlanta Area New Open Houses To Stop By, Jalen Carter Says He Will Be Cleared Of Wrongdoing In Fatal Crash, 3 Atlanta Farmers Markets To Shop Like A Pro, Info Here, 8 Best Places In The Atlanta Area To Take Visitors. 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. However, the Government watchdog also recommended oversight of the 4 million smaller loans. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused financial hardships for many hardworking business owners across the nation. According to the SBA, thePaycheck Protection Program ended on May 31, 2021. Apparently one tim isnt enough for some people. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans have aided more than 5.2 million small business owners, providing a much-needed lifeline during the Coronavirus outbreak crisis. Man Uses Forgery to Get EIDL and PPP Loans (North Carolina August 25), 38. Thats a great point, Alex! Terrence Deshun Williams, named one of Floridas high school basketball coaches of the year, was charged with fraudulently obtaining $984,710 in PPP loan money for a consulting company. Charles Petty a/k/a Charles Knight, 48, of Atlanta - charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, and money laundering in connection with the loan obtained by Transportation Management Services Inc. Jerry Baptiste, 43, of College Park - charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, and money laundering in connection with the loan obtained by Transportation Management Services Inc. Charles Hill IV, 45, of Norcross - charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with the loan obtained by his business, Infinite Education Services Inc. Teldrin Foster, 39, of Decatur - charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the loan obtained by Bellator Phront Group Inc. Denesseria Slaton, 52, of Stockbridge - charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with the loan obtained by Transportation Management Services Inc. Carla Jackson, 53, of Tucker - previously charged by indictment on August 4, 2020 with money laundering in connection with laundering the proceeds of Gaines Reservation and Travels PPP loan. Are you personally at risk as a company owner, board member, executive? While egregious and clear misuse of PPP loan funds presents a clear risk, expenditures that blend business and personal purposes (i.e. The government issued a seizure warrant for a Mercedes Benz SUV and more than $500,000 from a bank account. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The bank recalled one loan and the Government seized funds for the other two. Darryl Washington, 66, of Atlanta, Georgia. US Attorney's Office for Middle District of Ga. investigates high volume of PPP loan fraud By Jessie Gibson Published : Jun. Are you at risk? According to prosecutors, the defendants allegedly submitted, or assisted in submitting, PPP loan applications for 14 businesses between April and August 2020. The DOJ has already initiated multiple federal cases against individuals alleged to have converted PPP loan funds for personal use, and in these cases the defendants are facing hefty fines and years, if not decades, of federal imprisonment. Can I, and should I, report this. Former Police Officer Sentenced For Money Laundering. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. Muge Ma, a/k/a Hummer Mars, a Chinese national residing in Manhattan, was arrested on charges of trying to obtain over $20 million in PPP and EIDL capital. The government wisely decided to move fast and let the justice system track down any miscreants. This comes as federal prosecutors in Georgia continue to make new arrests for PPP fraud. The loan applications for each company were between $700,000 and $850,000. Also, the seizure warrant revealed multiple California unemployment benefits debit cards. During the investigation, the U.S. seized nearly $4 million in PPP loan proceeds, four luxury vehicles, and several jewelry items. In order to ensure that no one at your company raises questions for federal authorities unnecessarily, it is imperative to rely on the advice and representation of experienced federal counsel. Former Police Officer Sentenced For Money Laundering. The defendants are charged with various counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. As part of the court-authorized search, law enforcement seized Quartermans cell phones and discovered a handwritten ledger with the personal and banking information of several individuals. Attorneys for the Northern District of Georgia, 10 defendants indicted in multi-state, fraudulent COVID-19 related business loan scheme, Arizona man pleads guilty to extorting Georgia Tech, Georgia woman charged with stealing over $450,000 in government and retirement benefits. Its alleged they falsely claimed to have dozens of workers at 4 different businesses, including a restaurant neither owned. To this end, all companies that received PPP loans would be well-advised to proactively conduct an internal PPP compliance investigation. Michael C. Moller was charged with fraudulently seeking $4.7 million in PPP forgivable loan that he applied for in the name of various people including his father, girlfriends brother and girlfriends son. Fugitive defendant who fled during trial convicted by federal jury for laundering millions of dollars stolen from fraud victims throughout the U.S. Twenty Two Defendants Charged In Connection With Alleged $11.1 Million Paycheck Protection Program Fraud Scheme. The defendants allegedly abused both programs by submitting fraudulent applications and obtaining thousands of dollars that should have gone to support struggling businesses. An official website of the United States government. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Based on the investigation, none of the companies allegedly engaged in any business-related transactions or used the PPP loan proceeds for any authorized purposes. On August 9, Manukyan allegedly boarded a flight from Mexico City to Belarus. Attila Colar allegedly used several aliases in a scheme to illegally get $22 million from the PPP. Argires allegedly filed two fraudulent PPP applications seeking $1.1 million in forgivable funding. The complaint also states he was convicted of four counts of bank robbery and fraud previously. For a quick overview, this infographic tells the story of what happens when the funds are misused in a PPP loan fraud. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. 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. Vegas Business Owner (Nevada August 13), 37. This alleged PPP ring paid each other for services never rendered to try to hide the money trail. Justice Department representatives say honest owners acting in good faith shouldnt worry. Main Office:
By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Stopping COVID-related fraud is a priority for the Department of Justice. Thissearchable website looks at which companies got money from last year's federal program to help businesses retain their workers amid the pandemic economic shutdown. 90 PPP Applications in This Fraud Ring (Ohio and Florida August 6), 33. Our searchable database allows users to look up dollar allotments by industry, and lenders. They have fewer than 500 employees, qualify as a small business concern under Section 3 of the Small Business Act, or meet one of the limited number of other PPP eligibility standards; and, Their owners are eligible to participate in SBA programs such as the PPP (i.e. He then allegedly transferred the illicit gains to his personal bank accounts. But it may not take that long. Hopefully someone will find this. ATLANTA Twenty-two people have been charged in a federal scheme to defraud the government from taking out false Paycheck Protection Program loans, and 11 of those people are from the metro Atlanta area. However, we have created a list of PPP resources that should help you with any challenges that you might have. James McFarland, 56, of Atlanta, Georgia. He got up to $5.7 million in loans. Man Couldnt Keep His 19 Fraudulent Applications Straight (Michigan September 1), 44. A discovery by the U.S. And for how much? Rich Smith 31.3K subscribers Subscribe 110K views 1 year ago Here's a breakdown of the PPP Loan Fraud List and who got a PPP Loan.. He allegedly squandered thousands at strip clubs and nightclubs. Ten people indicted in Metro Atlanta, Houston and D.C.-Maryland area on federal fraud charges for false CARES Act applications. The estimated amount was about. He allegedly blew through about $200,000 in Las Vegas casinos, where he was caught on surveillance cameras at a Bellagio blackjack table. No. The Federal Bureau of Investigations seized nearly $2 million from three different accounts at Bank . Thissearchable website looks at which companies got money from last year's federal program to help businesses retain their workers amid the pandemic economic shutdown. Hubert Ivan Ugarte of Draper, with the assistance of Lisa Bradshaw Rowberry of Provo are charged with fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan of $210,000. Medical Company Owner (Florida July 10), 23. A Cessna Aircraft and a Lexus (Virginia October 20), 59. After receiving the loans, he bought a $480,000 , spent $50,000 to $200,000 on a lost gambling bet, bought a brand new speedboat worth about $150,000, he also bought Martina D****la a $900 pair of shoes for her 23rd birthday. 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