louisiana ppp loan arrests

NGUYEN and DAT HO will be presented in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in connection with these and other unrelated charges. Two people were approved for that amount twice, and one of those people got paid twice. EVERY prepared and submitted false and fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan applications via various online portals including, but not limited, to Blueacorn. (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. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Edward Rivera, COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator. It Got a PPP Loan. Find out how you can get involved and stay up to date with our work. Sah submitted falsified tax and payroll documentation in which he claimed to have numerous employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll expenses, according to a Justice Department press release, but none of the businesses he sought loans for had any employees. The Department of Justice confirms they are looking into reports of PPP fraud across the nation. judy norton children; court ordered community service california That situation may arise in cases of apparent fraud involving Economic Injury Disaster loan advance grants of $10,000 or less. Many Paycheck Protection Program loans appear to have been issued to recipients who were not eligible under the programs rules. My feeling is that despite the fraud, the program helped far, far, far more of my people than it hurt, said Kennedy. 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. Lock The program worked like this. PPP loan information is available to the public through the SBA, and several groups have even published that information in the form of online searchable databases that anyone can use. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. EVERY charged $45.00 to $120.00 from the individuals she recruited to prepare and submit the fraudulent PPP application. POGOs analysis of the first full years worth of Paycheck Protection Program fraud cases found that in at least: Some of these cases involve multiple defendants. And this is not the only case. Law enforcement insiders say many more pandemic loan fraud cases will be brought in the months and years ahead. Who in Louisiana got Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic? In Louisiana, a federal grand jury recently indicted a Plaquemine woman named Lestreonia Rodrigue on fraud charges. For instance, the department may decline cases involving smaller-dollar amounts, especially in busier U.S. attorneys offices around the country, Grossman said. Click here to report information on Amazon warehouses. On June 28, 2020, the day loan applications were filed for the two companies, Greenberg reinstated the companies with Floridas state government since they had been administratively dissolved years prior to the February 2020 eligibility cutoff. Your Address, Corporation Income/Franchise Extension Request. Based on the data, between $5,589,989,154 and $10,528,439,154 have been loaned through the Payroll Protection Program to businesses in Louisiana. 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 released a list of businesses that have received emergency pandemic loans. All totaled, in that city of 43,000 people lenders approved $1.3 million dollars just for barbershop owners. For more information on the Departments response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Ryan Summers is a research fellow for POGO. In July, banks filed nearly seven times the average number of suspicious activity reports. 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. More than a year after the pandemic brought much of the economy to a standstill, mounting fraud cases underscore how the Small Business Administrations (SBA) oversight of its massive taxpayer-backed lending programs proved to be inadequate as they became magnets for fraudsters. The Small Business Administration has sent 1.34 million referrals related to Economic Injury Disaster loans to its office of inspector general, which is tackling these and Paycheck Protection Program fraud cases in coordination with a host of other law enforcement agencies. Data analysis could also help the agency assess potential policy changes, and the Biden administration made some changes to make access to relief more equitable earlier this year. Check out bed occupancy rate of hospitals. Too often those who fraudulently divert tax dollars in amounts below what is typically accepted by prosecutors are not fully held accountable, impacting agency programs and leaving the taxpayer footing the bill, he wrote. 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. An Archdale man was arrested after authorities say he falsely received more than $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief money through the Paycheck Protection Program. 8851 center dr la mesa, ca 91942; chamberlain graduation 2023; fun sober things to do on a friday night. Not all the blame can be placed at the Small Business Administrations feet. (212) 637-2600, Human Trafficking & Child Sexual Exploitation, Department of Justice Harassment Prevention Resource, Download Ngoc Manh Nguyen et al. Copyright 2020 WAFB. UNION VETERINARY CLINIC, INC. 65780. Have a question about Government Services? One percent of the recovery acts $501 billion in spending would be about $5 billion. Help us crowdsource fraud detection in the PPP program! A borrower applied for a PPP loan from a lender or bank. Thats because, at least in part, its optional for loan applicants to supply that information. 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. 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. The loans have to be repaid with low interest. Using that public data, the 9 News Investigators took a close look at PPP loans given out in Louisiana. One case involved applications for hundreds of allegedly fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster loans and at least a $1.3 million loss to the federal government. The Small Business Administration has released a list of businesses that have received emergency pandemic loans.. 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. 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. 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. Otherwise, the borrower is on the hook for the money. The SBA now also conducts manual loan reviews for the largest loans in the PPP portfolio and a random sampling of other loans. Underscoring the tension between fraud prevention and disbursing assistance quickly, the added checks to verify information submitted by applicants have somewhat slowed the processing of loan applications. That new law permitted SBA to require additional information from applicants, such as tax returns, for loans and advances as part of its verification, according to Shear of the Government Accountability Office. Even if the Justice Department declines to join a case, the whistleblower and their private counsel can continue to pursue it. GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF NORTH LOUISIANA 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 One St. Andrews Plaza - New York, NY 10007, Three Family Members Arrested for Misrepresenting Employee Payroll Figures to Receive COVID-19 Loan Funds for Chain of Family-Owned Nail Salons in New York Metropolitan Area and Other Businesses, James Margolin, Nicholas Biase katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address Vance's (R-Ohio) call for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)-style plan to help workers and businesses affected by the East Palestine train . For much of 2020, the agency also issued grants of up to $10,000 under the program that do not have to be repaid by eligible recipients. Ryan Summers [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. In July, the agencys inspector general warned of potentially rampant fraud in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. About one year after the passage of the CARES Act, $626 million in funds have already been seized or forfeited related to criminal and civil investigations of pandemic loan fraud. The Department of Justice says in Feb. 2021, Gray created a scheme to defraud a lender and the United States, through the Small Business Administration, by filing false applications for PPP. It was this difficult road that we had about a week, but our bankers got it done and, and our businesswomen and businessmen stepped up to the plate and took advantage of it, said Sen. 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