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PROVIDENCE – Four individuals in Florida have been arrested and more than $1.2 million dollars in cash has been seized in a wide-ranging, ongoing joint federal and state investigation into a significant number of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT), and elsewhere, for benefits funded in part by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was passed by Congress to assist, among others, individuals whose employment has been impacted by the pandemic.

A Leesburg man was arrested today on charges of fraudulently obtaining over $2.5 million in loans through the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and then spending the fraudulently obtained money on luxury items.

Five individuals were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged participation in a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 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, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

To address the COVID-19 pandemic, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPP) together appropriated $2 billion to reimburse providers for costs associated with conducting COVID-19 testing and testing-related items and services for the uninsured. Additionally, a portion of the $175 billion appropriated to the Provider Relief Fund by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and PPP will be used for treating uninsured individuals with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. HHS, through the Health...