Reports

A former National Football League (NFL) player was sentenced Friday to 37 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.2 million through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle has sentenced Kary Stevenson (47) and Corey Quinn (35), both of Tampa, for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft related to COVID unemployment insurance benefits. Stevenson was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison and Quinn was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison. As part of their sentence, the court also ordered Stevenson and Quinn to pay $87,046 in restitution to the various state workforce agencies they defrauded.

A former National Football League (NFL) player was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.2 million through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

LAS VEGAS – A Florida man was sentenced today to 54 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess and use California Employment Development Department (EDD) debit cards issued in other people’s names.

BOSTON – A Dominican National residing in Boston was arrested today for allegedly using others’ identities to fraudulently obtain Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.

BOSTON – A Malden man was sentenced today in connection with submitting fraudulent applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). The federal PUA program provides unemployment-related benefits to individuals who have been impacted by COVID-19.

A federal jury convicted a Texas woman today for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $1.9 million in loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A South Florida federal district judge sentenced three Broward County residents to prison terms this week for conspiring with each other to launder proceeds obtained from business email compromise schemes and fraudulently obtained Covid-19 relief loans.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus woman was sentenced in federal court here today and ordered to pay a fine of $250,000, the maximum amount allowed by law, for committing COVID relief fraud. In addition to her fine, she was ordered to pay more than $128,000 in restitution.

A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale found a 32-year-old Florida woman guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A federal jury convicted a Florida woman on Nov. 24 for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A Texas man was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for his scheme to fraudulently obtain and launder proceeds from more than $1.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A Florida tax preparer was charged in an indictment filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania yesterday with scheming to fraudulently obtain more than $7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and pre-pandemic Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and to launder the proceeds of the illegal scheme.

BOSTON – A Stoughton man was indicted yesterday in connection with his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain COVID-19-related small business loans from several financial institutions.

A federal jury convicted a Seattle doctor yesterday of fraudulently seeking over $3.5 million and obtaining over $2.8 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

BOSTON – A former New Bedford man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston on federal wire fraud charges arising from claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) funds.

Carlos Vazquez, 57, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday to 42 months’ imprisonment for fraudulently obtaining $921,875 through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Today, 58-year-old Miami-Dade County resident Willie Curry was sentenced to six months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge James Lawrence King after having pled guilty to wire fraud in connection with Curry's fraudulent application to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for a low-interest COVID-19 relief loan.

A South Florida tax preparer was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for carrying out a scheme to fraudulently obtain over 100 COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). He was also ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution.

BOSTON – A Stoughton man pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain COVID-19-related small business loans from several financial institutions.

BOSTON – A Leicester man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Worcester in connection with his involvement in loan and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) fraud schemes.

Three members of a San Fernando Valley family have been sentenced – two of them in absentia after they fled justice following their convictions at trial – to years in federal prison for scheming to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

Seven members of a Los Angeles-based fraud ring were sentenced for a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

A Santa Clarita Valley man was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for scheming to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

BOSTON – A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today in connection with his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

Seattle – A Seattle area pair was indicted today in the Western District of Washington, for more than $1 million in fraud on COVID-19 relief programs, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

A Florida owner of multiple diagnostic testing laboratories was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to 82 months in prison for a scheme to defraud the United States and to pay and receive kickbacks through exploiting regulatory waivers put in place to ensure access to health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two individuals pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Texas for their participation in a scheme to fraudulently obtain and launder millions of dollars in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

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

BOSTON – A Rhode Island man was arrested today in Michigan and charged in federal court in Boston in connection with his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain over $450,000 in COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Lawrenceville, Georgia, man pleaded guilty today 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.

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas returned an indictment yesterday charging an Arkansas man who owned or managed numerous diagnostic testing laboratories with health care fraud in connection with over $100 million dollars in false billings for urine drug testing, COVID-19 testing, and other clinical laboratory services.

Today, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before the Honorable Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, 28-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident Damara Holness pled guilty to a one-count information charging her with lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

SAN JUAN, P.R. – On October 27 and 28, 2021, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned six separate indictments charging eight (8) individuals with fraud against the Unemployment Insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. These cases were investigated by various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), and the Social Security...

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Thursday announced a civil enforcement action against defendants Xlear Inc. and Nathan Jones for alleged violations of the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act and the FTC Act.

Odunayo “Baba” Oluwalade, age 25, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme purporting to sell COVID-19 vaccines.

A federal grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, returned an indictment yesterday charging a Louisiana man with fraudulently obtaining more than $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program loans.

Sextant Marine Consulting LLC (Sextant), a Florida-based duct cleaning company, has agreed to pay $30,000 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. Sextant also repaid the duplicative PPP funds in full to its lender, relieving the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of approximately $170,000 on the improper loan.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal grand jury has returned four indictments charging six individuals with allegedly executing schemes to defraud unemployment agencies in multiple states by fraudulently applying for and receiving tens of thousands of dollars in regular and expanded pandemic related unemployment insurance benefits, at times using the stolen identities of unsuspecting individuals, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to 49 months in federal prison for filing two dozen fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, which were approved for more than $250,000 in unemployment benefits from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) and California Employment Development Department (EDD).

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today to using at least 40 stolen identities to fraudulently collect approximately $175,622 in unemployment insurance benefits from the California Employment Development Department (EDD), the administrator of the federally funded unemployment insurance benefit program for residents of the State of California.

Tacoma - A former Port Angeles, Washington, naturopathic physician was convicted late last week of a federal felony related to his misbranding of products he claimed could prevent and treat numerous serious diseases, including COVID-19 and MRSA, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – An undocumented individual pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to use over 100 victims’ identities (without their consent) to unlawfully submit fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits claims, totaling at least $934,129.

South Florida native and former National Football League (NFL) Player Kenbrell Armod Thompkins, 33, pled guilty this week in federal district court to stealing other peoples’ identities to fraudulently obtain Covid-19-related unemployment insurance benefits.

A Libyan national who orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to secure more than $23 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans pleaded guilty today to a federal financial crime.

Three Missouri residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a scheme to use the identities of deceased people to file hundreds of false stimulus claims under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A Georgia man was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $285,742 through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

PROVIDENCE – For the second time in one week, a defendant has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence, RI, to a significant term of incarceration in federal prison for defrauding or attempting to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus.

PROVIDENCE - A Massachusetts man who became the first person in the country charged with fraudulently seeking forgivable pandemic relief small business loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and who faked suicide shortly after his arrest resulting in a nationwide search for him by the U.S. Marshals Service, was sentenced today to 56 months in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus.

BOSTON – A Wenham man was arrested today in connection with a scheme to obtain fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program funds made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act by submitting false applications.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Liz Ann Banchs, the owner and president of Farmacia Gabriela, Inc. was charged and pleaded guilty on September 24, 2021 to participating in a felony conspiracy to convert government property and to commit health care fraud in connection with the illegal vaccination of minors between the ages of 7 to 11 with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The announcement was made by W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico and Scott Lampert, Special Agent in Charge for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector...

Tacoma – A former employee of Washington State’s Employment Security Department has been charged in a 20-count indictment for his scheme to exploit his employment for personal enrichment and to fraudulently distribute at least $360,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

A Sunland resident has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining a $650,600 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Department of Justice announced today.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber today sentenced Andre Moore (37, Miami) to eight years in federal prison for credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered Moore to pay $650,145.03 in restitution and to forfeit $3,110.55, related to the counts on which he was convicted.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Nevada man pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to defraud multiple financial institutions by filing fraudulent bank loan applications that sought more than $1.9 million dollars in forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The man also pleaded guilty to collecting over $350,000 from employees as income tax and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) withholdings for tax years 2014 to 2019, which he failed to pay over to the IRS on the employees’ behalf.

Tampa, Florida – Kary Stevenson (47) and Corey Quinn (35), both of Tampa, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and a consecutive two years’ imprisonment for the aggravated identity count.