Lawal pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2021, and Raji pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft on March 9, 2022. We have gathered and summarized all cases that we are aware of that have been filed anywhere the United States. Michael Moller was charged with bank fraud and making false statements to the SBA. Rowlando Hatter, Jr. and Clyde Anthony Parker, Jr, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The case was brought in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2022. Federal prosecutors and criminal investigators from various federal agencies are actively looking for possible PPP loan fraud, EIDL loan fraud, and other CARES Act violations in an attempt to recover money that may have been fraudulently obtained from COVID-19 relief programs. Justin Etwaru was charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. Robert Hamilton was charged with bank fraud and money laundering. The Government alleged that Dr. Shibley submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $3 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The Government alleged that Mr. Sadleir, a film executive, submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Because PPP lending is closed to new applications, SBA's challenge is to effectively handle potentially fraudulent PPP loans to reduce the risk of financial loss and ensure only eligible borrowers receive forgiveness in accordance with program requirements. Report it to the Small Business Administrations with just a few clicks. The case was brought in Brooklyn, New York. The Government alleged that Mr. Sah submitted several fraudulent loan applications seeking approximately $24.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds. She was sentenced to 41 months in prison. This list is organized by the date charges were filed, and only includes cases that have been indicted or charged by information. The Government alleged that Mr. Goldstein submitted fraudulent loan applications and obtained over $655,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Oludamilare Olugbuyi was charged with making false statements to a bank. On October 7, 2021, Mr. Staveley was sentenced to 44 months for the bank fraud offense and 12 additional months for his failure to appear, run consecutively for a total of 56 months. Shanrika Duhart was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Government alleged Woods submitted fraudulent loan applications obtaining approximately $92,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Phillip Augustin was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and obstruction of justice. It is also alleged that Ms. Ford-Victory received some kickback payments for submitting the claims. Ms. Johnson pleaded guilty on February 16, 2022, and she is scheduled to be sentenced on September 15, 2022. Juliana Martins was charged with false statements and theft of government money. Oumar Sissoko was charged with four counts of wire fraud. He was sentenced to 135 months in prison on July 19, 2022. Scott Davis was charged with wire fraud and engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived property. The case was brought in Fort Lauderdale. "Ridge thought he could unjustly enrich himself by defrauding a program designed to support . Mr. Tezna pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. Chung pleaded guilty on March 11, 2021, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on March 1, 2022. Steven Jalloul was charged with one count of engaging in monetary transactions using property derived from unlawful activity. Updated Jan. 11, 2023, Search Every Company Approved for Federal Loans. Nikia. Lauren Duhart, Joshua Smith, Steve Lewis, Christopher Agard, Henry Duffield, Jeremy Latourneau and Derick Keane were charged with attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and money laundering. Brandon Casutt was charged with making false statements to a bank, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. Mr. Kralievits pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 19 months in prison on June 30, 2021. Woods and Gilchrist are both licensed attorneys. The Government alleged that Mr. It is also alleged that all defendants are members or associates of the Woo Gang, which is based in Brooklyn. 94% of the total 2020 PPP loan value has been forgiven, in full or in part. On May 27, 2021, Edvard Paronyan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of money laundering. The case was brought in Providence, Rhode Island. Christopher Hayes was charged with making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim to the Government. The case is pending and no trial date has been scheduled at this time. The PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) is an emergency disaster loan program administered by the SBA designed to provide funds to small businesses with under 500 employees who were affected by the 2020 Coronavirus epidemic. Ms. Norton pleaded guilty on November 12, 2020, and she is scheduled to be sentenced on November 10, 2022. E! Edwards and Richardson pleaded not guilty on June 22, 2022, and their trial date is scheduled for November 14, 2022. The case was brought in Charlotte, North Carolina. The case was brought in Greensboro, North Carolina. The case was brought in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Christopher Mazzei and Erin Mazzei were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money and money laundering. The Government alleged that Mr. Garcia submitted fraudulent loan applications for over $285,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Mr. Henley pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating and prosecuting PPP fraud cases all over the country. Mr. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. Andre McBreairty was charged with false statements. Their sentencing date has not been scheduled at this time. On January 4, 2022, she was sentenced to 41 months in prison. In the Spring of 2020, the Small Business Association ("SBA") began administering the Paycheck Protection Program (the "PPP" or the "Program") to provide SBA-backed loans to help eligible businesses maintain their workforces during the COVID-19 pandemic. IR-2021-65, March 25, 2021 The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) marks the one-year anniversary of the Coronavirus Aid, . The case was brought in Miami, Florida. In February Sean Schoepflin and Erika Leon were charged with wire fraud and transactional money laundering. The case was brought in Atlanta, Georgia. All the other defendants have pleaded not guilty. This case was brought in Greenville, South Carolina. The Government alleged that Izzat and his son Tarik submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds. In the New York case, Mr. Sadleir pleaded guilty on January 19, 2022 and his sentencing hearing is to be determined. The Government alleged that Mr. Welch submitted fraudulent loan application through Welch Sole Proprietorship to obtain approximately $35,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Mr. and Ms. Mitchum pleaded guilty on January 12, 2022 and are scheduled to be sentenced on July 29, 2022. The Government alleged that Mr. Blotnick submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking $4.6 million COVID-19 relief funds and transferring that money to his brokerage accounts to buy stock. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Serving clients across the United States Anuli Okeke was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. PPP Loan Fraud Investigations Can Have Various . The Government alleged that Ms. Swope and Ms. Pearson submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Brandon Ridge was charged with brank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Curtis and Dereen Porch were charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property. The Government alleged that Mr. Stewart submitted fraudulent loan applications and obtained over $250,000 in COVID-19 relief funds and that he was engaged in two other, separate fraudulent schemes to obtain government contracts and military benefits. Artur Chanchikyan was charged with wire fraud, theft of government property and concealment money laundering. The Government alleged that Mr. Yates the sole proprietor of Lone Star Tuning submitted fraudulent loan applications obtaining approximately $5,700,000.00 in COVD-19 relief funds. His appeal is pending. PPP Loans List You can search the SBA's entire PPP loan data below. Nicholas Jones was charged with wire fraud and falsification of records. Jonathan Olivetti was charged with one count of wire fraud. He was found guilty on all charges at trial and was sentenced to 48 months in prison. We also help our clients gain access to seized or frozen accounts by working with banks, and government agents to release money that rightfully belongs to our clients. The case was brought in Atlanta, Georgia. PPP loan fraud investigations are on the rise across the country. The case was brought in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Augustin pleaded guilty was sentenced to 78 months in prison on May 6, 2022. Mr. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. Ms. Williams pleaded guilty. On May 20, 2021, Mr. Suber was sentenced to 24 months in prison. The Government alleged that Mr. Okojie submitted at least 8 fraudulent loan applications for companies that did not exist seeking millions in COVID-19 relief funds. On July 11, 2022, Mr. Collins was sentenced to 63 months in prison and Ms. Collins was sentenced to 30 days in prison. The case was brought in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Okeke has pleaded not guilty, and her case is pending. Ms. Walker has pleaded guilty. The case was brought in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Redfern and Mr. McMiller both pleaded guilty on September 23, 2021, to multiple counts of wire fraud. The DOJ is targeting individuals and businesses in PPP loan fraud investigations, and it is targeting those who received loans of all sizes. Called PPP for short, the program offered simple-to-get . The Government alleged that Ms. Falgoust filed 5 fraudulent loan applications seeking over $500,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. PPP loans and fraud - the red flags that could have been spotted Amanda DuPont September 09, 2021 6 min Approximately $800 billion went out in the CARES Act's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), providing nearly 12 million loans between April 2020 and May 2021 to U.S. businesses. The Government alleged that Nicoloff submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Moon pleaded guilty. This case was brought in Greenville, South Carolina. The case was brought in West Palm Beach, Florida. Recent reports have found that FinTechs and their bank partners handled 75 percent of the approved PPP loans that have been connected to fraud by DOJ, despite facilitating just 15 percent of PPP loans overall. Yun Jae Moon was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. On September 27, 2021, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The case was brought in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Phillip Augustin was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and obstruction of justice. Raymond Magana was charged with fraud in connection with major disaster benefits. Tracy Kirkland was charged with wire fraud. SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) The SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) is the integrity and accountability arm of the SBA. Mr. Ho was found guilty on all charges. On August 3, 2021, Mr. Hayes was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The Government alleged that Mr. Davis submitted fraudulent loan applications for business entities Skilled Trade Investments, LP, Skilled Trade Staffing, LLC and Skilled Trade Investments GP, LLC obtaining approximately $3,346,813.00 in COVID-19 relief funds. The defendants have been charged by complaint. The case was brought in Billings, Montana. The case was brought in Miami, Florida. Mr. Staveley has also been charged separately with aggravated identity theft and failing to appear in court when required. Mr. Davis pleaded guilty on May 26, 2022, and is scheduled for sentencing on August 19, 2022. This case was brought in Richmond, Virginia. On January 26, 2021, Mr. Magana pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 41 months in prison on April 18, 2022. Attorneys, including the Fraud Section, have resulted in a variety of charges, including wire fraud (18 U.S.C. The case was brought in Foley Square, New York and is pending. On August 13, 2021, Mr. Fiedler was sentenced to 8 months in prison. Mr. Hines pleaded guilty to wire fraud. The case was brought in Miami, Florida. On March 16, 2022, Mr. Boncimino was sentenced to 36 months in prison. The Government alleged that Mr. McLeod and Ms. Wilson submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds. On October 25, 2021, he was sentenced to 72 months in prison. The case was brought in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Brittany Shearod was charged with attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud. Questions. 2022 by The Church Law Firm LLC. Mr. Fitzgerald-Holley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 months in prison on April 21, 2022. Martin Kao was charged with multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Levelle Harris was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud. The Government alleged that Mr. Sissoko submitted fraudulent loan applications to obtain over $7.25 million in COVID-19 relief funds, which he then allegedly misappropriated on personal expenses. Robert Bearden was charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government funds. On October 13, 2021, Mr. Blotnick pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. On November 1, 2021, he pleaded guilty to an information and was sentenced to 24 months on February 2, 2022. Nadine Jackson was charged with wire fraud and making false statements. The case was brought in Baltimore, Maryland. This will take the form of government and whistleblower investigations, including False Claims Act claims related to loans that went to companies (and fraudsters) that should not have received these . On June 10, 2021, Mr. April Falgoust was charged with one count of wire fraud. The case was brought in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Cherry pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property. The case was brought in Houston, Texas. The Government alleged that Ms. Tubbs submitted fraudulent loan applications and obtained almost $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. All defendants have pled guilty. She was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Kabbage, which processed over $7 billion in PPP . The case was brought in Miami, Florida. David Hines was charged with wire fraud, making false statements to a lending institution, bank fraud, and money laundering. The Government alleged that Mr. Tolliver submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking $7.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds, of which he obtained over $1.1 million. On May 17, 2021, Mr. Staveley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and failure to appear in court. Wyleia Williams, James Stote, and Ross Charno were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. Ms. Duhart pled guilty and was sentenced to 3 years in prison on February 22, 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 27, 2022. Charmaine Redding was also charged separately and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Ms. Williams was sentenced to time served with 6 months home confinement on May 25, 2022. He was sentenced to 63 months in prison. Mr. Kao has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is currently scheduled for January 17, 2023. The Government alleged that Mr. Rai submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $10 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Mr. Williams pleaded guilty on October 13, 2020, and his sentencing has not been scheduled. Robert Stewart was charged with wire fraud, theft of government funds, and making false statements. The case was brought in Houston, Texas. To date, all defendants except for Mr. Crosby have pleaded guilty to at least one of the counts of the indictment. Tonye Johnson was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. The case was brought in in Portland, Oregon and it is currently pending. On May 11, 2021, Mr. Fayne pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements on a loan application. Joshua Bellamy was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. Dr. Joseph has pleaded not guilty. The case was brought in Augusta, Georgia. Kenneth Gaughan was charged with bank fraud, theft of government funds, identity fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Mr. McLeod and Ms. Wilson have both pleaded guilty. The Government alleged that Mr. Brown filed fraudulent loan applications seeking over $60,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. On June 2, 2021, Mr. Smith was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Thomas Smith was charged with bank fraud and money laundering. Damilola Lawal and Idowu Raji were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and related charges. Maurice Fayne was charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, false statements on a loan application, money laundering, and identity fraud. 1d ago. On June 29, 2021, Mr. Crowther was sentenced to 37 months in prison. The Government alleged that Mr. Augustin submitted fraudulent loan applications for his company Clear Vision Music Group LLC obtaining more than $24 million dollars in COVID-19 relief funds. Rafael Martinez was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, false statements, aggravated identity theft, and other related charges. Hunt pleaded guilty on August 31, 2020 and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 21, 2022. The case was brought in Alexandria, Virginia. It is alleged that the scheme between Ms. Ortiz and her co-conspirator has affected at least 23 victims. The case was brought in Dayton, Ohio. The Government alleged that Mr. McBreairty inflated his payroll to obtain 3 separate loans and misused over $55,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. On November 15, 2021, Richard Ayvazyan was sentenced to 17 years and Marietta Terabelian was sentenced to 72 months in prison. The U.S. Small Business Administration's watchdog has been asked to investigate Potomac Radio, owner of WCRW, after receiving more than $100,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Government alleged Mr. Stewart submitted fraudulent loan application through The Infinity Group of SC, LLC to obtain approximately $300,000.00 in COVID-19 relief funds. Lakisha Swope and Treisha Pearson were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Cindi Denton was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. On March 11, 2021, Bern Benoit pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Mr. Nicoloff pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison on May 9, 2022. The Government alleged that Mr. Criss submitted fraudulent loan applications through Criss Solutions, LLC obtaining approximately $173,990.00 in COVID-19 relief funds. On October 8, 2021, Ms. Denton was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 12 months on home confinement. Please let us know if there is any other case we need to watch. The White House on Thursday called for a "thorough and complete" investigation into reports that hundreds of young girls attending primary school in Iran have been affected by symptoms associated with toxic gas poisoning. It is also alleged that Santana used the funds to purchase vehicles and invest in cryptocurrency. Mr. Olivetti pleaded guilty on December 13, 2021, and is scheduled for a pre-sentence conference on August 30, 2022. Mr. Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 6, 2021. Andre Clark was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. Ms. Falgoust pleaded guilty to an information on July 22, 2021. Her trial began on December 6, 2021, and on December 8, 2021, a jury found her guilty on all counts. Mr. Johnson was held accountable for fraudulently obtaining a loan of $389,627. The Government alleged that Ms. Abbas submitted fraudulent loan applications and obtained over $37,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to care for individuals with cases of COVID-19. They have not yet been sentenced. Marcus Frazier was charged with major fraud against the United States, making false statements on a loan application, making false statements to the Government, making false statements to the Small Business Administration, money laundering, wire fraud, and bank fraud. The case was brought in Atlanta, Georgia. The case was brought in Atlanta, Georgia. The Government alleged that Mr. George and his co-defendants submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $4.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The case was brought in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her sentencing is scheduled for January 12, 2022. The Government alleged that Mr. Cherry submitted fraudulent loan applications and obtained $190,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. The case was brought in Newark, New Jersey. The Government alleged Mr. Hollis knowingly devised and participated in a scheme to defraud the State of Georgia, the Department of Labor, and the United States to obtain money. The Government alleged Zhang through Cloud Optimization, LLC submitted fraudulent loan applications obtaining approximately 41,525,000.00 in COVID-19 relief funds. Diamond Blue Smith was charged with conspiracy to commit and offense against the United State, i.e., wire fraud. The Government alleged that Santana submitted a fraudulent loan application to obtain $2.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The Government also alleged that Ms. Miller submitted fraudulent requests for unemployment benefits. Hunter VanPelt was charged with one count of bank fraud. The Government alleged that Mr. Lewis orchestrated three different fraudulent schemes, including running a sham business offering pandemic-related goods, soliciting fees from businesses seeking non-existent relief grants, and submitting fraudulent loan applications to the SBA. The Government alleged that Mr. Hsu submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking $1.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds. This case was brought in Las Vegas, Nevada. This case was brought in Portland, Oregon. The case was brought in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Search PPP Loan List in Miami Beach, Florida. The Government also alleged that Mr. Collins used his tax-preparation business to file thousands of fraudulent tax returns resulting in a loss of $3.8 million to the IRS. Our firm helps people who are being charged or investigated for alleged fraud in applying for or taking out PPP and EIDL loans funded by the CARES Act. Find data and reports related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Andrew Tezna was charged with one count of bank fraud. The Government alleged Mr. Johnson participated in a conspiracy with others that involved submitting fraudulent loan applications seeking a total of $24 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The case was brought in White Plains, New York. On August 9, 2021, Mr. Cartlidge pleaded guilty to one count of attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud. The Government alleged that Mr. Barosy submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The case was brought in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Banks will likely be targeted in the coming months for their roles with the Paycheck Protection Program and other lending during the pandemic. Mr. Licata pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud on January 13, 2022. On July 18, 2021, he was sentenced to over 11 years in prison. On March 10, 2022, Garibyan pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 3 years of probation on July 21, 2022. The case was brought in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Government alleged that Doss submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $220,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Ms. Miller has pleaded not guilty, and trial is scheduled for December 6, 2022. On July 14, 2021, Mr. Smith was sentenced to 36 months in prison. The case was brought in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ms. Abbas pleaded guilty on February 1, 2022, and was sentenced to time served on May 19, 2022. Mr. Mancieri has a change of hearing plea scheduled for August 15, 2022. On December 10, 2021, Mr. Bellamy was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Audri Ford-Victory was charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy. Romean Brown, Tyrek Clarke, Kenneth Desir, Stephan Dorminvil, Kai Heyward, Keith James, Christopher Jean-Pierre, Oneal Marks, Jahriah Olivierre, Roleeke Smith, and Christopher Topey were charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. This case was brought in Albany, New York. Blood has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set for August 16, 2022. The Government alleged that Cisternino submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $7.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Shashank Shekhar Rai was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, false statements to a financial institution, and false statements to small business administration. Mr. Charno and Ms. Williams both pleaded guilty on January 13, 2022. Mr. Bernardo pleaded guilty on June 14, 2022, and his sentencing date is to be determined. Blood submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking over $600,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. The case was brought in Concord, New Hampshire. The case was brought in Alexandria, Virginia. Eric Shibley was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. Bernard Okojie was charged with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. The case was brought in Las Vegas, Nevada. On June 16, 2021, Darrell Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and he also admitted to additional fraud as part of his plea deal, including obtaining fraudulent automobile loans. Vinath Oudomsine was charged with one count of wire fraud. Researchers estimate that $76 billion in PPP loan money was taken illicitly. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 8, 2022.