Goldstein allegedly transferred $355,000 in his personal bank account. Its intended to offer news and peer perspective on an important issue that affects us as business owners. Robert, youre probably right about finding fraud for years to come. As part of his guilty plea, Darrell Thomas admitted his participation in fraudulent conduct totaling more than $14.7 million, including more than $11.1 million in fraudulent PPP loans, more than $1.15 million in fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and more than $2.4 million in fraudulent automobile loans. Darryl Washington, 66, of Atlanta, Georgia. * * * DOJ will almost certainly expect cooperating institutions to provide investigative leads and will likely pursue those leads primarily through its own resources where it can., So imagine this scenario. A package containing methamphetamine hidden in dog food containers had been mailed to Quartermans home. Luckily, the Feds have recovered a large part of the loan proceeds already, although millions is forever gone. Atlanta, GA 30303-3309. After leaving the hotel he opened GMP Cars. We have a new Administration in Washington, but government officials in the Justice Department have not signaled a change in enforcement policy. Law enforcement assisting in the investigation included the Small Business Administration OIG office, the FBI, FDIC and others. The Government alleged that Chanchikyan submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking approximately $345,000 in COVID-19 relief funds through his home health agency, Gentle Touch Home Health Care Inc. The U.S. Secret Service and IRS participated in this investigation, along with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. 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. The only way to get more money than that is to either 1) claim to have employees that you didn't really have, or 2) inflate your earnings amount on the application. Like with compliance program documentation, inadequate documentation of PPP loan expenditures will be viewed as a red flag for fraud, and it can place companies in a hard position when it comes to defending against federal fraud allegations. Buoi allegedly misrepresented how many wokers he had and that the United States was their primary residence (required). I was put on furlough for almost 2 months from mid April to end of June. This federal statute imposes penalties of up to a $1 million fine and 30 years of federal imprisonment for, "knowingly execut [ing], or attempt . Miles allegedly used the gains to purchase a Bentley and Cadillac, and withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars. Justice Department lawyers remind everyone that, A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.. Copyright 2003 - 2023, Small Business Trends LLC. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Man Charged with Identity Theft (Florida August 10), 34. Main Office: 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. We Will Protect Your Rights, Reputation and Freedom. Casey David Crowther was charged with receiving more than $2 million in PPP funds. Here are 10 red flags for PPP loan fraud: Companies are required to make a number of affirmative representations during the PPP loan application process. You can also check to see how many workers companies receiving the assistance said they kept on the payroll. The GAO also recommended auditing COVID-19 unemployment benefits paid to workers rehired through the loans. Hayford later pleaded guilty. She is alleged to have obtained nearly $600,000. Sandra D. Smith has been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud and theft of government funds. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, Former U.S. It is alleged he got over $190,000 in proceeds and managed to withdraw cash or cashiers checks for $140,000. 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. Geoffrey M. Palermo of Novato faces charges of wire fraud and making false statements. Oludamilare Olugbuyi was charged with fraudulently obtaining two PPP loans totaling more than $400,000. I appreciate your consideration/guidance/help/time. A lock ( The defendants allegedly participated in an extensive nationwide scheme in exchange for illegal kickbacks of portions of the loan proceeds, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Departments Criminal Division in a statement. A locked padlock 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. The Justice Department is hot on their trail. The former manager of the San Francisco Hilton allegedly embezzled from the hotel in a kickback scheme going back to 2013. 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. Ex-Microsoft Executive (Washington July 23), 28. Construction Company Owner (Washington D.C. July 13), 24. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS The federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is subject to a whole host of rules and restrictions. Austin Hsu of Issaquah, WA was charged with wire fraud in connection with fraudulently seeking over $1.1 million. PPP Loan Fraud List | Who Got a PPP Loan? We will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the EIDL and PPP and to help small businesses stay afloat.. More than 15% of PPP loans had at least one indication of potential fraud. 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. 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. He allegedly squandered thousands at strip clubs and nightclubs. Use our searchable database to see who in Georgia received funds. He allegedly used aliases to obtain $8.5 million in aid using fake tax filings and falsified records of payroll costs. 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. Postal Inspectors are committed to aggressively pursuing investigations in which the U.S. Mails are used to facilitate criminal schemes.. Sandra D. Smith has been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud and theft of government funds. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Richard B. Russell Federal Building ATLANTA - Seventeen more individuals have been charged in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $11.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and to use those funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other personal items. 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. East Texas Man and the Online Name Generator (Texas May 19), 5. PPP2 started accepting applications on January 11, 2021. Stephen J. Cox, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, wrote in an op-ed in Texas Lawyer: Rest assured that we will be careful not to discourage legitimate businesses from accessing the important financial resources that Congress made available through the CARES Act. 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. Gaughan is also charged separately with allegedly embezzling $472,000 from the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. where he previously worked. 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. Jorge Abramovs was charged in an indictment with bank fraud, making false statements to a bank, and money laundering. However, this grace period has expired, and now the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and other federal agencies are aggressively targeting companies suspected of engaging in PPP loan fraud. Adarin Jones, a/k/a Adrian Jones, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta, GA 30303-3309. While the government is helping those in need, law enforcement is swiftly addressing these vulnerabilities. Justice Department announces charges brought against 57 people for PPP fraud, representing $175 million in alleged fraud. Prominent CEO of Hawaii Government Contractor (Hawaii -September 30), 55. IRS-CI will continue to help illuminate these criminal deeds with our financial expertise., The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration aggressively pursues those who endeavor to defraud programs afforded to the American people under the CARES Act, said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. 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. Can I, and should I, report this. Related coverage:Treasury names 650K small businesses receiving govt loans. Lyft Software Engineer (Washington May 22), 9. Authorities say he went on a personal spending spree with taxpayer money. The tool below can be used to search all publicly released PPP recipients in GA. He allegedly applied for $441,000 under the Federal Paycheck Protection program. Instead, the businesses used the funds for various personal expenses. Most of the funds are going to help the nations 31 million small businesses. Depending on the charges, penalties could include up to $1 million in fines and up to 30 years in prison, legal experts say. Transferred $335k to Personal Accounts (California -October 29), 63. A Swimming Pool and Money Abroad (Minnesota November 16), 67. If you dont know, those are characters from the Game of Thrones TV series. "Along with our federal, state and local law enforcement [] According to the U.S. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, Former U.S. A 2020 Bentley Continental and Cadillac Escalade (New York December 21), 77. William Sadleir, the ousted head of Aviron Pictures, was charged with wire and bank fraud in connection with a $1.7 million PPP loan. Dennis Nobbe, a chiropractor in Miami, is charged with wire and health care fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. Authorities claims Yates used a name generator on the Internet to create names of fake staff. Charmaine Redding, pleaded guilty on July 14, 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the loan obtained by her business, All Star Room and Board Services of Michigan Inc. Reddings sentencing is set for October 21, 2021 before Judge J.P. Boulee. 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. Authorities also claim he lost $500,000 on risky stock market trades. Celestine Coletta Strong, Jawuan Polk, Patrick Earl Lewis, and Tyzhaun Marqui Lewis were charged in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP funds. Investigations by the DOJ and U.S. Two Miami neighbors, Latoya Stanley and Johnny Philus, are charged with getting more than $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loan and PPP loan amounts. 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. Even if only one PPP loan was obtained, attempting to obtain more than one loan can still lead to criminal prosecution. A Cessna Aircraft and a Lexus (Virginia October 20), 59. Kindambu made some expensive personal purchases that authorities say were not permissable under the loan terms, including the plane the Lexus. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. It is not intended as legal advice. 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