She allegedly claimed to have 73 employees at her Dayton private investigation company. What are the Red Flags for PPP Loan Fraud? Purchased a Luxury Mercedes E400 (Arizona December 17), 74. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The defendants are charged with various counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. We will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the EIDL and PPP and to help small businesses stay afloat.. The banks internal auditors will then report it to the SBA faster than you can say oops, bad move.. A crucial aspect of the PPP is that companies are only allowed to use the funds they receive for specific authorized purposes. $1,659,747. 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.. It is alleged he got over $190,000 in proceeds and managed to withdraw cash or cashiers checks for $140,000. The EIDL application information, submitted by the applicant, was used by SBA systems to calculate the amount of money the business was eligible to receive in the form of a loan. Argires allegedly invested some of the proceeds in a cryptocurrency account and withdrew cash via ATM transactions. Three-State Ring (Georgia, Ohio and California August 6), 32. NOTICE: Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes; attorney advertising. Lock The government wisely decided to move fast and let the justice system track down any miscreants. David T. Hines of Miami is charged with fraudulently seeking $13.5 million in PPP funds using false statements about various companies payroll expenses. The charges allege the usual. That didnt stop him from allegedly applying for two PPP loans using different company names. According to the indictment, Turasky had already been evicted from the restaurant rental space and her employees had been terminated before she applied for the PPP loan. Charles Petty a/k/a Charles Knight, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia, is 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, Georgia, is 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. Derek Parker, 56, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with the loan obtained by his business, D Parker Holdings Inc. David Belgrave II, 49, of Lexington, South Carolina, is 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 his business, Continuing Success Inc. Charles Hill IV, 45, of Norcross, Georgia, is 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. Ryan Whittley, 35, of South Holland, Illinois, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with the loan obtained by his business, ML Exotic Customs Inc. El Hadj Sall, 39, of Jacksonville, Florida, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with the loan obtained by his business, Bellevie Corp. Rick McDuffie, 50, of Little Rock, South Carolina, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in connection with the loan obtained by his business, Mickies Auto and Tire LLC. Man Couldnt Keep His 19 Fraudulent Applications Straight (Michigan September 1), 44. Ugarte allegedly used it for past due truck payments to Kenworth instead of required payroll. Seattle Doctor (Washington June 30), 20. Authorities seized the Range Rover, worth about $125,000, jewelry, $120,000 in cash, and $3 million from 10 bank accounts. Princess Terry of Memphis is alleged to have filed and fraudulently obtained $290K in PPP loan funds while on pre-trial release in an unrelated healthcare fraud case. Andre Lee Gaines, 67, of Dallas, Georgia, pleaded guilty on June 17, 2021 to one count of making false statements to the FBI in connection with the loan obtained by his business, Gaines Reservation and Travel. Its easy to take risks on day trading and gambling when youre using taxpayer money. Assistant U.S. is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and it only maintains a fully equipped office in Dallas and Houston. Most of the funds are going to help the nations 31 million small businesses. 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. Darrell Thomas, 35, of Duluth - pleaded guilty on June 16, 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Bern Benoit, 45, of Burbank, California, pleaded guilty on March 11, 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with the loan obtained by his business, Transportation Management Services Inc. Benoits sentencing is set for September 8, 2021 before Judge J.P. Boulee. Chinese Man Found Guilty Of $20 Million Dollar PPP Fraud Scheme Chinese national who lived in New York pled guilty in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain over $20 million. He allegedly was caught on camera withdrawing cash. Game of Thrones Inspired These Fake Company Names (North Carolina September 29), 54. Due to a high volume of calls, we are unable to take on more PPP clients at this time. David Christopher Redfern of Trinity, North Carolina is charged with fraudulently getting EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) and PPP funds totaling $414,000. Jase DePaul Gautreaux aka Jase Dixon, a funeral director in Houston, is charged with seeking $13 million in loans and ultimately receiving over $1.6 million. Steven R. Goldstein and his business partner, Raymond Magana are charged with applying for $2.5 million in loans and actually receiving over $1.95 million. Government money always attracts a small number of fraudsters, grifters, and criminals. Sutukh El even posted a rap video holding a large amount of $100 bills after he had made a cash withdrawal, having received this $600,000 plus. Government officials have seized more than $400,000. A requirement of forgiveness is that borrowers must rehire or retain workers and maintain salary levels. He allegedly used some of the cash to pay off $80,000 in personal credit cards and a $40,000 car loan. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Following a nine-day trial, Ahamefule Aso Odus has been convicted by a federal jury on 12 counts of money laundering stemming from his role in a massive money laundering operation Northern District of Georgia They allegedly used the proceeds to make down payments on personal homes. 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. Cherry was on supervised release in an unrelated federal case when he applied to the Small Business Administration program. According to Federal authorities, Crowther submitted an application on behalf of his roofing company that contained false and misleading statements. Nationwide Federal Defense, Compliance and Litigation. But keep it all in perspective. (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. Authorities also claim he lost $500,000 on risky stock market trades. All information on this website has been prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Former Police Officer Sentenced For Money Laundering. The Vegas High Roller (California July 16), 26. 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. Specifically, if and when Firm cooperates with Local Counsel, Firm will disclose the details to the client in writing for their approval. Martin Kao, the CEO of Navatek LLC (now known as Martin Defense Group LLC), was charged in a federal complaint with fraudulently obtaining $12.8 million in CARES Act loans. Woman Achieves Distinction as 50th Defendant Charged with PPP Fraud (Florida September 3), 46. Federal authorities are targeting companies and individuals suspected of defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). According to the SBA, the Paycheck Protection Program ended on . Rocco A. Malanga, owner of a New Jersey small company, was charged with wire and bank fraud for falsifying records to obtain $1.8 million in PPP loans. Charged were: Darrell Thomas, Andre Lee Gaines and Carla Jackson of Georgia; Kahlil Gibran Green Sr. of Ohio; and Bern Benoit of California. 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. She deposited the proceeds into four bank accounts, but that didnt hide it from authorities who seized her ill-gotten gains. Authorities revealed they recovered $1.3 million of the funds. The impact of COVID-19 on small businesses around the country has been devastating, said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. But of course, the government has to prove the allegations. Are you or your company at risk for facing allegations of PPP loan fraud? Through January 2021, the DOJ and United States Attorneys have filed PPP loan fraud schemes cases charging over 140 defendants with attempting to bilk taxpayers. 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. Man Uses Forgery to Get EIDL and PPP Loans (North Carolina August 25), 38. Investigations by the DOJ and U.S. ( Arizona December 17 ), 38 ( California July 16 ), 32 (! 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