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Six defendants have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy that resulted in more than $240,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Merton Weed Jr., 51, filed eight fraudulent PPP loan applications with different lenders and received over $240,000 in PPP funds. He faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Denis Casseus (44, Cape Coral) to two years in federal prison for bank fraud and an illegal monetary transaction. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $298,875, the proceeds of the bank fraud. Casseus had pleaded guilty on May 23, 2023.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ADEDAYO ILORI was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil to 25 years in prison for his participation in a sophisticated identity theft and COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Ivelisse Rivera-Padilla, Carla Carrillo-Torres, and VIP Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (“VIP Healthcare”) pleaded guilty before United States District Court Chief Judge Raul M. Arias Marxuach.

Ahmed Sary, age 45, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions, relating to the submission of more than $17.9 million in fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Earlier this week, BRIAN LEE FOSTER, 54, of Norman, Oklahoma, was sentenced to serve two years in prison for his role in a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

Jeffrey Bearden, age 47, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to making a false statement on a loan application relating to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.