Reports

Two Pennsylvania companies and one South Carolina company entered into a settlement agreement with the United States resolving allegations that the companies violated the False Claims Act by taking a total of five Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to which the companies were not entitled.

TONY STERLIN CANTAVE, 45, of Shelton, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven for defrauding a COVID-19 pandemic relief program.

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that IRVIN C. FRANCOIS, III (“FRANCOIS”), age 53, of New Orleans, was indicted on June 20, 2025 for making false statements, and money laundering, related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

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 federal jury convicted Stephanie Hockridge, a founder of the lender service provider Blueacorn, on Friday in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

“At the height of the Covid pandemic, ZISHAN ALVI disregarded public health concerns in favor of greed,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros

An Inland Empire woman was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $1.7 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related jobless benefits, federally-guaranteed small business loans, California Small Business COVID-19 relief grants, and Los Angeles County economic opportunity grants.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Jemel Lyles, 43, of Washington, DC, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges in federal court. In his guilty plea, Lyles admitted to submitting applications for and receiving funds from six fraudulent CARES Act loans.

To learn how communities across the nation responded to the pandemic, we initiated a multi-part review of six communities—two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations. This report is the sixth community-specific report and focuses on our work in Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation in New Mexico, where we previously identified that recipients, including city government, small businesses, and individuals, received almost $80 million from 42 pandemic relief programs and subprograms. This report provides a closer look at ten pandemic programs and subprograms provided to Jicarilla...