Reports

Baltimore , Maryland – U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced David Godin, 34, of Miami, Florida, aka “James St Patrick,” “David Wetty,” and “Vic Pro,” to 78 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Godin pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). Judge Maddox also ordered Godin to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,087,345.66 and restitution of $1,137,894.56.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Earl Lamont Taylor, 52, was sentenced to six years in prison Monday and will be ordered to pay over half a million dollars in restitution to the Small Business Administration. Taylor went to trial in November and ultimately pled guilty to one count each of bank fraud and wire fraud while the jury was deliberating. He received almost $300,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 loans. This fraud was part of a multimillion-dollar national scheme, and, to date, more than 30 defendants have pled guilty and 29 have been sentenced.

A New Jersey man admitted to fraudulently obtaining approximately $617,991 in federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”) and Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans.

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 32, of Pennsylvania, has been charged with six counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

KAREN GASTON, 44, of East Granby, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud COVID-19 pandemic relief programs of more than $1.1 million.

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Richard Nieto, age 39, of Morrison, Colorado, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $962,438.85 in restitution for engaging in wire fraud and money laundering in connection with obtaining two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The founder of a now-shuttered non-profit organization has been indicted on federal charges alleging he bribed then-Orange County Supervisor Andrew Hoang Do to obtain approximately $12 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related funds, pocketed the bulk of that money, then laundered it to avoid detection by law enforcement, the Justice Department announced today.

Angelo Stephen, 33, a former Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer, and George Arestuche, 47, a former Miami-Dade County Aviation Department employee, were sentenced in separate cases after pleading guilty to defrauding COVID-19 relief programs.