Reports

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved by the Middle District of Florida’s efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the United States Attorney’s Office’s (USAO-MDFL) Criminal, Asset Recovery, Appellate, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

A West Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 79 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $9 million in COVID-19 business loans, some of which he used on gambling excursions to Las Vegas and transferred to his stock trading accounts.

Jose Fernandez has been sentenced for seeking over $5 million by submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) applications, filing false tax returns using stolen identities, using credit cards he obtained with stolen identities, and check fraud. He ultimately obtained more than $2 million in fraudulent funds, which he then used for his personal benefit.

Fourteen people who allegedly bilked the Paycheck Protection Program and numerous financial institutions out of more than $53 million in loan proceeds have been federally charged.

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Jerry Phillips, a/k/a “Tian Juzo,” age 25, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and illegal possession of a machine gun, related to a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program loan applications (“PPP”), Economic Injury Disaster loan applications (“EIDL”), and unemployment insurance claims. Judge Chuang also ordered Phillips to pay restitution of $1,235...

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic County, New Jersey, man admitted laundering the proceeds of fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans.