We Will Protect Your Rights, Reputation and Freedom. Days later she paid $8,000 on her student loan and then went on a spending spree at Sephora and other retailers, it is alleged. Keith William Nicolettawas charged with seeking more than $1.9 million in a Paycheck Protection Program loan to pay employees of a scrap metal company when, in fact, he had paid no payroll taxes for employees. 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. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Amanda Christian, 33, of Blythewood, South Carolina, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and false statements to a federally insured financial institution in connection with her involvement in the loan obtained by her business, Advertising and Then Some Inc., and several other businesses loans. Government money always attracts a small number of fraudsters, grifters, and criminals. Authorities allege he bought a company on the Internet in May with no employees, and then forged documents to claim he had paid millions in payroll taxes in 2019. In some cases, pursuant to Rule 7.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and the equivalent in other jurisdictions, a case is referred to a Local Counsel, the Firm will not participate in the representation. Honestly, I think theyll be finding and prosecuting these for years. Another report by the SBA OIG found tens of thousands of examples of companies that received PPP loans ineligibly. 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. 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. References to a particular city or state other than Dallas, Houston, and Texas in any article or anywhere on this website does NOT mean that Firm maintains an office in that location, and it does NOT mean that Firm has attorneys physically located in that city or state. 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. Every case is different, any prior result described or referred to herein cannot guarantee similar outcomes in the future. In many cases, this will require more than merely recording the transaction itself. It is free MONEY no one will repay one single dollar. Miami Chiropractor (Florida July 29), 31. The total approved was over $525 billion, demonstrating its success. Great Article! PPP Loan Fraud List | Who Got a PPP Loan? 17 Mtskheta str . Rodericque Thompson allegedly recruited Micah Baisden, Travis Crosby, Keith Maloney, Tabronx Smith, and Thomas Wilson to apply for PPP loans on behalf of their respective business, per law enforcement. Authorities also claim he lost $500,000 on risky stock market trades. Fraudulent Loans List :: PPP Detective Fraudulent Loans List These loans have been flagged by other users as potentially being fraudulent. The Justice Department is hot on their trail. These Local Counsel may assist the Firm on a case-by-case basis, operate their own respective law firms, are independent of Firm, and are not partners, owners, of counsel, or employees of Firm. 18, 2021 at 1:24 PM EDT Millions of Americans eventually will apply for forgiveness. On March 16, 2020, Attorney General William Barr directed all 94 U.S. Attorneys Offices to prioritize investigating and prosecuting PPP loan cases of fraud. Ahmad Kanan, formerly of Madison, is charged with wire fraud and money laundering. Victor Montgomery, 43, of Washington, D.C.. Ronald Bell, who conspired to extort money from Georgia Institute of Technology, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. 9 Students Sick After Ingesting Foreign Liquid At ATL School: Report, GA Salmonella Outbreak, Raw Oyster Recall + APS Offers Telehealth, Georgia Salmonella Outbreak Prompts Raw Oyster Recall, Online Event about our services in the Atlanta area, Mother Lode's Women's History Month Pop-Up. Sadleir was Executive Producer on films like, Baoke Zhang, a software engineer at ride share company Lyft, is charged with wire and bank fraud. DOJ prosecutors may also pursue civil penalties, not just criminal prosecutions, particularly around loan forgiveness. The complaint states he applied on behalf of fake companies with names like White Walker, Khaleesi, and The Nights Watch. Assistant U.S. Attorney Miguel R. Acosta is prosecuting the case. Official websites use .gov 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. Researchers estimate that $76 billion in PPP loan money was taken illicitly. Copyright 2003 - 2023, Small Business Trends LLC. To date, a total of 22 individuals have been charged in connection with the fraudulent scheme. Melissa Turasky, a Chicago restaurateur, was charged with submitting a fraudulent PPP loan application to obtain more than $175,000 in a forgivable PPP loan. A second PPP2 program was authorized by Congress for $275 billion. Acknowledging PPP loan applicants compliance burdens (and the limited information that was initially made available to applicants), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offered a grace period within which companies could return improperly obtained PPP loans without penalty. 2023 www.onlineathens.com. 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. If you got funding after June 5, you have five years to repay. The government wisely decided to move fast and let the justice system track down any miscreants. Joseph Cherry II of Virginia was indicted on 10 counts of COVID fraud and faces 10 to 30 years of prison time on each count. 2023 Cox Media Group. Distinction is a loose term for having the Justice Department and Assistant United States Attorney Brian C. Rabbitt call you out as the 5oth prosecution. All rights reserved. Prominent CEO of Hawaii Government Contractor (Hawaii -September 30), 55. Some of them operated as crime rings as part of the PPP loan fraud schemes they were committing. While the government is helping those in need, law enforcement is swiftly addressing these vulnerabilities. Andre Lee Gaines, 67, of Dallas - 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. 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. Ten people indicted in Metro Atlanta, Houston and D.C.-Maryland area on federal fraud charges for false CARES Act applications. IT Services Company Owner (Massachusetts June 22), 15. Abramovs allegedly got nearly $2 million from seven lenders. If you dont know, those are characters from the Game of Thrones TV series. Subsequently, upon receiving PPP loans (or, ideally, in anticipation of receiving a PPP loan), companies should adopt policies and procedures that are designed to ensure continual PPP compliance. 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. 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. Seven Charged in Fraud Ring (South Carolina September 10), 47. 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. Gwinnett County man accused fraudulently filing for millions in PPP loans. 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. 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. Rahul Shah of Evanston is charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Our searchable databaseallows users to look up dollar allotments by industry, and lenders. Our searchable databaseallows users to look up dollar allotments by industry, and lenders. James McFarland, 56, of Atlanta, Georgia. You can also check to see how many workers companies receiving the assistance said they kept on the payroll. Tristan Bishop Pan was charged for allegedly seeking $6 million in Paycheck Protection Program loan. 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