Seventeen more individuals have been charged in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $11.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and to use those funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry and other personal items.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between May and August 2020, the defendants submitted, or assisted in the submission of, PPP loan applications on behalf of 14 businesses seeking loans of approximately $800,000 for each company. In the loan applications, the defendants certified that each applicant business was in operation on Feb. 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or that it paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage interest payments, lease payments and utility payments; and that the information provided in the application and in all supporting documents was true and accurate in all material respects.
In the PPP loan applications, each business reported that it had approximately 60 employees and approximately $300,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an IRS Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes. But, in reality, each Form 941 was fraudulent.
After the PPP loan proceeds were deposited into the businesses’ accounts, the funds were distributed to conspirators through a series…
