Reports

An Oklahoma woman pleaded guilty today in the Western District of New York for a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $43.8 million in COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A California-licensed naturopathic doctor pleaded guilty today in the Northern District of California for scheming to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and for falsifying COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized Moderna vaccine.

An Oklahoma woman pleaded guilty today in the Western District of New York for a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $43.8 million in COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Keon Ball, age 45, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in relation to multiple identity theft schemes and fraud schemes—including schemes conducted while on probation after a past state fraud conviction and while on pre-trial release in connection with state fraud charges. As part of his plea agreement, Ball will be ordered to pay at least $715,504 in restitution.

Keon Ball, age 45, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in relation to multiple identity theft schemes and fraud schemes—including schemes conducted while on probation after a past state fraud conviction and while on pre-trial release in connection with state fraud charges. As part of his plea agreement, Ball will be ordered to pay at least $715,504 in restitution.

Two individuals have been arrested following the return of an indictment alleging conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud

Two individuals have been arrested following the return of an indictment alleging conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Providence man who filed fraudulent online COVID-relief unemployment insurance claims in five states pled guilty today in federal court to a charge of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Providence man who filed fraudulent online COVID-relief unemployment insurance claims in five states pled guilty today in federal court to a charge of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Daniel Joseph Tisone (34, Naples) with wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the fraud charges and up to 10 years in federal prison for the illegal monetary transaction offense.

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Daniel Joseph Tisone (34, Naples) with wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the fraud charges and up to 10 years in federal prison for the illegal monetary transaction offense.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – An East Providence man made an initial appearance in federal court in Providence today on charges that he filed eight fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $337,000 in Small Business Association (SBA) guaranteed COVID-19 relief business loans, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A West Warwick man was arraigned on Monday in U.S. District Court on charges contained in a federal indictment alleging that he participated in a conspiracy to use the stolen identities of others to gain COVID related unemployment insurance benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A West Warwick man was arraigned on Monday in U.S. District Court on charges contained in a federal indictment alleging that he participated in a conspiracy to use the stolen identities of others to gain COVID related unemployment insurance benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – An East Providence man made an initial appearance in federal court in Providence today on charges that he filed eight fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $337,000 in Small Business Association (SBA) guaranteed COVID-19 relief business loans, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

BOSTON – A Michigan man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

A federal jury convicted a California man yesterday for submitting fraudulent applications seeking money from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), submitting false statements to a financial institution, and money laundering.

Tacoma - A former Port Angeles, Washington, naturopathic physician was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 8 months in prison and one year of supervised release for a federal felony related to his misbranding, and sale in interstate commerce, of products he claimed could prevent and treat numerous serious diseases, including COVID-19 and MRSA, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown.

SAN JUAN, P.R. – On March 23, 2022, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Fernando Gallardo-Álvarez and his consensual partner Olga Rivera-Dávila with a conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering violations related to fraudulently obtained funds from the Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland...

Two brothers who operated multiple South Florida addiction treatment facilities were sentenced to prison Friday for a $112 million addiction treatment fraud scheme that included paying kickbacks to patients through patient recruiters and receiving kickbacks from testing laboratories.

Two downtown Los Angeles residents were arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $300,000 – and attempted to obtain an additional $1 million – in COVID-relief loans for several companies they claimed to own and operate.

A Lakewood man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for threatening to bomb Small Business Administration (SBA) offices and then, the following year, threatening to assault SBA employees in response to his inability to obtain COVID-19 emergency business loans.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19. He also admitted to stealing additional government funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BOSTON – A Stoughton man was arrested and charged today in connection with allegedly filing a fraudulent loan application in order to obtain over $400,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds.

A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted two men today for the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Fort Myers, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Amber Rewis Bruey (35, Lehigh Acres) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and illegal monetary transactions. Her husband and co-conspirator, Anthony James Bruey, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges on February 4, 2022.

BOSTON – A New York Man pleaded guilty today to charges arising from a scheme to fraudulently obtain business loans and unemployment pandemic relief funds made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

SAN JUAN, P.R. – On March 10, 2022, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Martín Scamaroni-Cintrón with money laundering violations related to fraudulently obtained funds from the Unemployment Insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), and the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury (Hacienda).

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty yesterday to participating in a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration and a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender while he was on pretrial release, by filing fraudulent loan applications seeking over $100,000 in loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 and using them for his own personal benefit.

BOSTON – A Texas woman was sentenced today for her involvement in a scheme to fraudulently claim COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

Seattle – A Redmond, Washington, man who held himself out as a biotech expert was sentenced today in federal court for introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

Seattle – A former Seattle doctor was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 4 years in prison for fraudulently seeking over $3.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

The Justice Department concluded today that Colorado unnecessarily segregates people with physical disabilities in nursing facilities, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C.

The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), today announced a civil enforcement action against B4B Earth Tea LLC, B4B Corp., and Andrew Martin Sinclair (collectively, “defendants”) for alleged violations of the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, the FTC Act, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman today admitted in federal court that she provided false information to a mortgage lender when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, and that she fraudulently applied for a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and unemployment insurance benefits under both the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Providence man has been ordered detained in federal custody on charges that he filed fraudulent applications for pandemic unemployment assistance payments in at least eight states and that he threatened to assault a corrections officer, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

Miami-Dade resident Elisa Rivera, 50, pled guilty yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham to a felony Information charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to file fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration to COVID-19 relief advance grants and low-interest COVID-19 relief loans.

BOSTON – A Winchester man was convicted by a federal jury yesterday in connection with filing fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $13 million in forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for COVID-19 relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A federal jury convicted a Massachusetts man for submitting fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $13 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

An Orange County man who fled after authorities searched his residence on Wednesday is in federal custody today after he was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border and charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $5 million in COVID-relief loans for three sham companies.

BOSTON – A Hull man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with submitting fraudulent documentation in order to receive CARES Act small business loans.

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Rolanda Wingfield (39, Tampa) with two counts of access device fraud, one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Wingfield faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each of the access device offenses, as well as a consecutive two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity offenses. The indictment also notifies Wingfield that the United States intends to forfeit any proceeds, which are...

Gulfport, Miss. – A Kiln, Mississippi man pled guilty to wire fraud related to the COVID pandemic.

A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Jerry Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for the federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; and Jaleel Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for wire fraud, in relation to an alleged scheme to unlawfully obtain COVID-19 relief loans and unemployment benefits.

Three men were sentenced yesterday in the Middle District of North Carolina for fraudulently seeking over $2.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

LAS VEGAS – A California man who admitted to fraudulently obtaining over $170,000 in unemployment benefits — by submitting multiple unemployment claims in other people’s names and using benefits debit cards not belonging to him — was sentenced today to 30 months in prison.

Zen Solutions Inc., a Virginia-based company, has agreed to pay approximately $31,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining more than one Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2020.

Christopher Kenneth Guy, age 30, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft.