This March, the Government Accountability Office revealed that 4 months after SBA started using a system to approve Economic Injury Disaster loans in batches, agency officials realized this system contained alerts that should have been reviewed by loan officers, but had not been. SBA has fired employees and contractors who were involved in approving loans to themselves or who inappropriately influenced loan approval. DAVID RAINES COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. The PPP loan forgiveness, Fairs, Festivals, and Other Special Events, The Importance of Protecting Client Tax Information, 2022 Practitioner Tax Update Seminar Schedule, Update A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. In less than six months, more than 50 people have been charged with allegedly committing fraud in connection with the program. Louisiana Workforce Commission Suspected Fraud Form. A Project On Government Oversight (POGO) review of court filings up to April 2, 2021, found that the charged individuals allegedly sought a total of nearly $445 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans. Sen. John Kennedy says in the rush to get help to people in need as quickly as possible, Congress didnt have time to build many safeguards against fraud into the program. The Justice Department brought civil claims against the company under both the False Claims Act and Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act. & In another case, a Virginia resident obtained over $2.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and used the funds to buy not only a luxury car but a private plane. Have a question about Government Services? Red Flags: The First Year of COVID-19 Loan Fraud Cases, $189 Billion in Questionable Paycheck Protection Program Loans, With over $189 billion in questionable Paycheck Protection Program loans, law enforcement has just scratched the surface, By In Louisiana, a federal grand jury recently indicted a Plaquemine woman named Lestreonia Rodrigue on fraud charges. are moving. An estimated 1% of that 2009 stimulus was lost to fraud (some claim the rate is even lower than that). Normally, the agency can require loan applicants to fill out a form allowing the agency to verify their tax information with the Internal Revenue Service. The inspector general offices workload has increased significantly, Grossman said. After the defendants learned that a hold was placed on bank accounts of the Victoria Companies that received PPP loans issued by one financial institution due to suspicion of fraudulent activity, one of the defendants conducted Internet searches for PPP Fraud, PPP Loan Fraud Arrests, and How to get rid of a PPP Loan. The defendants thereafter withdrew the applications for and/or repaid the PPP loans for the Victoria Companies issued by that financial institution. 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. And I, I think we ought to prosecute every single one of them to the full extent of the law, said Kennedy. Byron.Henderson@la.gov, On Friday, Feb. 12, LDR will begin accepting tax returns through, , the states free, electronic tax filing application; or through commercially available tax filing software. BATON ROUGE, La. Investigators determined there were at least 110 PPP sole proprietor loan applications in and around the Thibodeaux, Louisiana area and they all had the same invoices and federal tax forms (Schedule C) with the same business name and amounts. These cases further highlight the ways individuals appear to have taken advantage of lax oversight in the program. Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the SBA-OIG, FBI, and IRS-CI, and noted that the investigation remains ongoing. In Louisiana, a federal grand jury recently indicted a Plaquemine woman named Lestreonia Rodrigue on fraud charges. On applications for loans for two companies, Greenberg Media Group and DG3 Network, Greenberg allegedly lied about not being under indictment despite having been arrested by federal agents and charged just days earlierwith the indictment a matter of public record. of Loans Jobs Retained Theyre not checking licenses. According to Grossman, the Small Business Administration watchdog official, all of our ongoing investigations involve individual borrowers rather than lenders. 8851 center dr la mesa, ca 91942; chamberlain graduation 2023; fun sober things to do on a friday night. The PPP loans are forgivable under certain conditions and the loan forgiveness is not taxable income for federal tax purposes. 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. In addition to allegedly submitting a fraudulent PPP loan application for a fictious [sic] business in his own name, Saintvil also allegedly stole the identities of eight elderly individualsseven of whom were residents of senior living facilities and one who was related to him, according to a Justice Department press release. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address According to the allegations contained in the Complaint[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly a dozen of those people took out two loans. But because the Department of Justice has made PPP and EIDL a priority we are seeing results from DOJ rather quickly in a lot of our investigations., Others in government have also remarked on how fast many of these cases It Got a PPP Loan. If you look at the last round [of PPP] and you look at it on a time series, it almost looks like the largest businesses and businesses in high-income neighborhoods received money first and smaller businesses and businesses in low-income neighborhoods received money last, the Small Business Administrations Michael Roth told Politico in March. Dr. James Hobley: When should you be screened for colon cancer? The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge. When we receive complaints on PPP and EIDL fraud, we immediately coordinate with the Department of Justice, to see what their interest is in the case. Additionally, CARES II provides up to $300 in weekly supplemental unemployment benefits. With more time, we might have been able to implement some preemptive fraud measures, but we knew there would be some fraud, said Kennedy. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today the indictment of SHARNAE EVERY (EVERY), age 27, of Houston, Texas, who was charged with one (1) count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and two (2) counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. This is your state and county equivalent level look at how many have gotten a dose or doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Todays Internet search for PPP Loan Fraud Arrests will certainly produce an unwanted result one that includes the name of their company leading the headlines., IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen said: In this difficult time when many Americans are struggling financially, it is repugnant that there are those who would fraudulently take advantage of relief efforts offered. But, in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, the Small Business Administration has not conducted robust data analysis to find instances of loans and grants that may have been fraudulently obtained, according to the Government Accountability Office. SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA LANDSCAPING LLC. POGO has sought additional data from the Small Business Administration, and to improve data collection. But, he added, the CARES Act removed that control, calling it a pivotal change.. More due diligence on the part of lenders or the Small Business Administration could have prevented at least some instances of fraud. When the government spends money, taxpayers deserve to know how it was spent, Clarion Ledger Editor Marlon A. Walker says. They have never said they won't seek prison time for below a minimum dollar amount. What happens when the watchdog tasked with overseeing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country doesnt do its job? On March 30, the Justice Department unveiled new charges against Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector. These are not simple or easy cases to investigate and charge, then-acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt said at a press conference last September. But according to the Justice Department, neither company paid anywhere near the purported amounts and had few if any employees. Kindambu pleaded guilty in January. Investigators say those accused made false statements about things like how many people they employ, their average monthly revenue, and payroll figures. The program worked like this. The Department of Justice confirms they are looking into reports of PPP fraud across the nation. Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Eastern Region Special Agent-in-Charge of the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA-OIG), William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced today the arrests of NGOC MANH NGUYEN, a/k/a Peter Nguyen, VICTORIA DIEUY HO, a/k/a Vicky Ho, and DAT TAT HO for a fraudulent scheme to obtain over $13 million in Government-guaranteed loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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 The scandal is whats legal, not whats illegal.. Search arrest records and find latests mugshots and bookings for Misdemeanors and Felonies. Click here for information on the investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department. They determined that a lot of the folks that they have as subjects of their investigations in HHS OIG [for Medicare and Medicaid fraud], were also committing PPP and EIDL fraud, Grossman said. Does something look fishy to you? POGO was unable to reach Edwards before publication. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says as of Aug. 8, more than 5.2 million forgivable loans have been approved, at a total of more than $525 billion. The Small Business Administration has said victims of identity theft will not have to repay the loans fraudulently obtained in their name, but some individuals have told media outlets the agency has not promptly resolved their cases. This table shows the top 5 industries in Louisiana by number . Lock Unfortunately, the owners of Victoria Nails & Spa saw this program as their own personal piggy bank. Eastern District of Louisiana EVERY then charged approximately $3,500.00 once the loans were funded. The nonprofit MITRE Corporation found more than 85% of Paycheck Protection Program loan recipients did not indicate their race or ethnicity in their loan applications, Earlier this year, the Biden administration revamped the Paycheck Protection Program loan application to encourage self-reporting of demographic data and better illustrate the impact the PPP is having across various population segments. But the Small Business Administration acknowledged, as of late March, there is still limited demographic data on PPP borrowers.. Applicants fraudulently obtained at least $16 million, per the Justice Department. The Small Business Administrations Office of Inspector General found a significant gap in the agencys data on underserved markets, such as ethnicity, veteran status, and women-owned businesses. 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. For example, in the city of Gonzales, there were 70 people claiming to own a barbershop who applied for loans. 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. That situation may arise in cases of apparent fraud involving Economic Injury Disaster loan advance grants of $10,000 or less. Identity theft is probably the most common underlying cause of the fraud that were finding, particularly in the EIDL program, SBA Inspector General Hannibal Mike Ware said in testimony before Congress in late March. Gaetz has denied the allegations and Greenberg has pleaded not guilty, although Greenbergs attorney and a prosecutor have said in court that he may be striking a plea deal soon. Gibsland Bank & Trust Company. Indeed, on the day lenders began processing applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans last year, Small Business Administration Inspector General Hannibal Mike Ware issued a white paper outlining lessons learned from previous stimulus loan programs. The Justice Department has brought criminal charges against at least 209 individuals in 119 cases related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud since banks and other lenders began processing loan applications on behalf of the Small Business Administration on April 3, 2020. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. The PPP loans are forgivable under certain conditions and the loan forgiveness is not taxable income for federal tax purposes. Normally, the office of inspector general receives between 700 and 800 hotline complaints or tips a year. project, POGO has been examining equitable access to government loans, grants, and contracts. Both the outgoing Trump administration and the Biden administration appear to have learned lessons from the fraud that occurred in 2020. Pape and Jung used more than $3600 from the fraud scheme to pay for a stay at a resort in San Antonio, Texas, according to the Justice Department. For instance, in a review for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the nonprofit MITRE Corporation examined a sample of 500 records for Paycheck Protection Program loans above $150,000. Nick Schwellenbach Aqeel and others in the scheme allegedly used loan funds to pay individuals they claimed were employees but were actually fake employees, according to a court filing. My directive to SBA and to the Department of Justice will be to work with our state attorneys general, work with local DHS, work with local sheriffs, and make sure people understand if you steal money, these are these are finite resources, said Kennedy. But in the year since the CARES Act became law, it has received nearly 150,000 hotline complaints, representing a 19,500% increase over prior years, according to a staff memo from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Civil enforcementwhere the evidentiary burden is lower than in criminal casesis another way of holding individuals and companies accountable. 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. As of this month, weve seized over $580 million from over 23,000 fraudulent EIDL loans., Weve got a process in place that once weve identified, for instance, a bank account that has money sitting in it, that was deposited through a fraudulent EIDL loan, we contact the Secret Service, and they have a method to go in and seize those funds, Grossman said. Created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program has lent out $755 billion to businesses as of April 11. For instance, in one larger case, the Justice Department has charged 19 individuals to date. Whistleblowers Said This Company Is a Fake Small Business. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, Former Louisiana Woman Indicted for Preparing Over 110 Fraudulent PPP Loans Totaling Over $1.1 Million Dollars, 2_ecf_doc_1_-_sharnae_every_indictment_redacted_sanitized.pdf, Dr. Charles J. Southall, III Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Money Laundering, Obtaining Over $889,000 Through Fraud, New Orleans Man Sentenced for Theft and Sale of Motor Vehicle from Mississippi Car Dealership, Two More New Orleans Residents Sentenced in Staged Automobile Collision Scheme, Former Louisiana Woman Indicted For Preparing Over 110 Fraudulent PPP Loans Totaling Over $1.1 Million Dollars. In less than six months, more than 50 people have been charged with allegedly committing fraud in connection with the program. If convicted, EVERY faces a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years, followed by a term of supervised release for up to three (3) years, a fine up to $250,000.00, or twice the gross gain to the defendant, or twice the gross loss to any victim, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee, per count. 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. 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. , said Kennedy a dose or doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of late March, is. 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