More than half of that amount$246 millionactually went to accused fraudsters. According to todays indictment, EVERY created a fictitious business called Natural Hair Afro, LLC, Houma, LA 70360 and used this fictitious business name on nearly all of the fraudulent PPP loan applications. Data is available, but its reliability for the purpose of assessing whether Paycheck Protection Program loans are reaching the underserved communities that Congress wanted prioritized is limited because the demographic data is incomplete. This map is your interactive guide to confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from the coronavirus around the state, nation and world. Another large identity theft case led to charges against Jeremie Saintvil of Delray Beach, Florida in March. The SBA Employee would and did use her access to the SBAs computer systems and her access to EIDLs to manipulate the status of EIDLs to trigger the system to extend funding for EIDLs submitted for the benefit for Joel Micah Greenberg, the indictment alleges. judy norton children; court ordered community service california A borrower applied for a PPP loan from a lender or bank. Shes accused of making up fake businesses to collect more than $20,000 through a PPP loan and another $500,000 in prepaid debit cards through unemployment claims. An indictment includes text and email messages involving creating tax records for some of the companies. Maybe, maybe not all.. ggdc fulfill service phone number; copenhagen, denmark circle houses for sale; living together in kuwait; brandi carlile brother jay; houston film festival; terrenos de venta en palmview, tx; louisiana ppp loan arrests. Your Address, Corporation Income/Franchise Extension Request. From at least in or about April 2020 through at least in or about June 2020, NGUYEN, VICTORIA HO, and DAT HO engaged in a scheme to submit online applications to at least two financial institutions for a total of over $13 million in government-guaranteed loans for the Victoria Companies through the SBAs PPP. Sen. J.D. (He also applied for a separate loan just days before being indicted.) Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the SBA-OIG, FBI, and IRS-CI, and noted that the investigation remains ongoing. Representative James Clyburn (D-SC), chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, said in the March 25 hearing that the Trump administration ignored flags of potential fraud in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and approved loans in batches with little to no vetting and abandoned a rule that required two SBA employees to approve each loan application., The Trump administration ignored flags of potential fraud, While a year has passed since the CARES Act became law and there are more checks now, government watchdogs say the Small Business Administrations oversight of the lending programs is still inadequate. Loans through that program were directly processed by the Small Business Administration, while in the Paycheck Protection Program, loans were primarily processed by banks and other lenders. Between May and October 2020, financial institutions filed more than 21,000 and 20,000 suspicious activity reports (SAR) related to PPP and EIDL, respectively, according to the Government Accountability Office. The cases involve attempts to steal a total of more than $175 million from the program, with actual losses to the federal government totaling more than $70 million, the DOJ reports. The only way you can reverse those things is by understanding the metrics behind it and to have real goals around them.. Copyright 2020 WAFB. SBA has fired employees and contractors who were involved in approving loans to themselves or who inappropriately influenced loan approval. The Justice Department has accused numerous defendants of using Paycheck Protection Program loans for unlawful purposes, such as purchasing private planes, sports cars, and taking pricey trips to Las Vegas casinos. Grossman said his office has shared data with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, which identified some repeat offenders. GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF NORTH LOUISIANA, INC. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF NORTHWEST LOUISIANA, ROSS H DIES DDS & BENJAMIN A BEACH DDS, LLC, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, Other Services (except Public Administration). Ryan Summers In the three decades since the laws passage, there have been only six whistleblower settlements involving FIRREA, yielding $19.9 billion in recoveries, but only $9.3 million in rewards to whistleblowers, according to Whistleblower Network News. April 15, 2021. If the borrower can prove they used the money to pay employees and eligible expenses, they can ask the SBA for loan forgiveness. The cash injection and potentially forgivable loans were . OIG and its law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue fraudsters and bring them to justice. The DOJ says this ill-gotten money was in many cases used to buy luxury personal items like cars, homes, vacation trips, and jewelry. The rebates, funded by the CARES Act, are subject to Louisiana state income tax. (212) 637-2600, Human Trafficking & Child Sexual Exploitation, Department of Justice Harassment Prevention Resource, Download Ngoc Manh Nguyen et al. Normally, the office of inspector general receives between 700 and 800 hotline complaints or tips a year. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is longstanding, and until recently the Small Business Administration limited these loans to $150,000 (last month it raised the cap to $500,000). The PPP was developed to ease the pain of COVID-19 economic restraints on working Americans. And these cases are just the beginning. She's accused of making up fake businesses to collect more than $20,000 through. NGUYEN, 44, and VICTORIA HO, 31, both of Hicksville, New York, and DAT HO, 33, of the Bronx, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of major fraud against the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to make false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the SBAs PPP. So were trying to reverse that. (WAFB) - Since the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) launched to help businesses pay their employees to prevent great losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some people have of course tried to exploit the program and defraud the federal government of money. According to a court filing signed by a Secret Service agent, a family of four was behind a scheme Act 311 of the 2020 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature allocated federal CARES Act funds to provide grants of up to $15,000 to eligible small businesses through a program administered by the Louisiana Department of Treasury. And I, I think we ought to prosecute every single one of them to the full extent of the law, said Kennedy. Report it to the Small Business Administrations with just a few clicks. Dr. James Hobley: When should you be screened for colon cancer? Nick Schwellenbach The line is staffed 24/7. EVERY then charged approximately $3,500.00 once the loans were funded. For media inquiries, contact: The disaster loan programs strongest internal control is the ability to receive directly from the IRS recent tax transcripts, wrote James Rivera, head of the SBAs Office of Disaster Assistance, last fall. Aqeel used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini sports car, according to the Justice Department. UNION VETERINARY CLINIC, INC. 65780. They often involve obtaining and then piecing together often-complex financial, payroll, and tax records for individuals and companies, and sifting through other evidence. Rabbitt noted the unparalleled speed with which these cases have been investigated and prosecuted.. There is abundant evidence that there was too little upfront vetting of loan applications in both the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Click on a company's name to see additional loan details. Loan Range No. They have never said they won't seek prison time for below a minimum dollar amount. The PPP loan forgiveness is not subject to Louisiana state income tax. Greenberg is a friend of Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, and both were identified in a recent New York Times report as having allegedly paid women for sex, as well as potentially a 17-year-old girl. The case led to criminal charges, including aggravated identify theft, filed in Texas in February. Does something look fishy to you? All rights reserved. Official websites use .gov The DOJ says falsified tax records were submitted and in some cases, stolen personal information was also used in these attempts to defraud the PPP. Joshua Edwards, the supposed vice president of ASLAN International Ministry, is accused of submitting fake payroll, tax, and financial documentation in support of the loan application. According to court records, Amir Aqeel and several others in the Houston area allegedly created fake tax and payroll documentation in exchange for large kickbacks for referring others into the scheme that involved 12 corporate entities. The program worked like this. This Office was one of the districts affected by the SolarWinds intrusion. At least one Small Business Administration employee allegedly took bribes last year to process fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster loans, according to criminal charges recently unveiled by the Justice Department related to the developing scandal involving Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL). In one of the most complex cases to emerge since POGOs original analysis, at least seven individuals were indicted in a scheme that allegedly involved over 80 applications seeking a total of $30 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans. The Paycheck Protection Program saved millions of jobs. EVERY prepared and submitted false and fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan applications via various online portals including, but not limited, to Blueacorn. The auditor found that the deficiencies were caused by an inadequate entity wide control environment.. So now, he says agencies must go after anyone who might be taking money theyre not entitled to. Additionally, CARES II provides up to $300 in weekly supplemental unemployment benefits. Click here to report information on Amazon warehouses. In order to support the false representations in the loan applications about the number of employees at, and the wages paid by, the Victoria Companies, the defendants submitted fraudulent and doctored payroll and tax records. Has the curve flatten in my town? Sah, who pleaded guilty on March 24, used the funds to buy a Bentley convertible and multiple homes, among other things. That story of corruption inside SBA has been overshadowed by other criminal allegations against Greenberg, notably child sex trafficking charges, and a scandal that might bring down a member of Congress. Seven of the approved loans were processed by Cross River Bank, a top Paycheck Protection Program lender that closely allied itself with financial technology firms. The involvement of a Small Business Administration employee in a pandemic loan fraud case raises questions about the agencys vetting of employees. An attorney for Aqeel, Tommy T. Mingledorff, told POGO by email that these allegations are denied. Eastern District of Louisiana BATON ROUGE, La. Facebook; Linkedin; louisiana ppp loan arrestsaboriginal handmade jewellery 19 January 2023 / in types of poop poster spencer's / by / in types of poop poster spencer's / by To disguise the fraud, family members moved the proceeds through several bank accounts held in different names, according to the Justice Department. U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Suspicious activity reports for small business loan fraud continued at levels far higher than normal through the end of 2020, according to POGOs review of federal data. The program began issuing loans again in January 2021, and some businesses are eligible for a second loan. The DOJ says falsified tax records were submitted and in some cases, stolen personal information was also used in these attempts to defraud the PPP. As part of its own COVID-19 relief spending tracker For instance, in one larger case, the Justice Department has charged 19 individuals to date. We will also begin processing paper returns downloaded from the LDR website at, The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided Economic Impact Payments of $1,200 for qualifying individuals and $2,400 for qualifying married couples, with an additional $500 per dependent child. & As far as the state of Louisiana is concerned, there is no requirement that a sole proprietor have a specific license at the state, said Ricks. I urge anyone who believes he or she is a victim of this type of fraud to report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud," said US Attorney Brandon Fremin. This is your state and county equivalent level look at how many have gotten a dose or doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Law enforcement insiders say many more pandemic loan fraud cases will be brought in the months and years ahead. *** For media inquiries, contact: are moving. In 2020, applicants could not lawfully receive more than one Paycheck Protection Program loan. But the government could have implemented these safeguards from the beginning, which may have prevented significant levels of apparent fraud in the program. However, not everyone taking part in the federal program was looking to keep their business doors open. 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