Newsroom

The Department of Justice has charged two more individuals with allegedly filing fraudulent applications for paycheck protection program (PPP) loans. The DOJ has charged several individuals with attempting to defraud and abuse the PPP as the department prioritizes detecting, investigating, and prosecuting illegal activity related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In one of the recent cases, the DOJ said a software engineer in Washington state sought more than $1.5 million in PPP loans from multiple banks by creating fake IT companies and payroll expenses. In addition, the individual provided fraudulent IRS documents and misrepresented when the IRS assigned the Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) for his companies. He was charged with wire fraud and bank fraud.

In another case, a Hollywood film producer was charged with allegedly filing fraudulent applications for PPP loans and obtained more than $1.7 million as a result. After receiving the funds, the producer used them to pay off more than $80,000 in personal credit card debt, a $40,000 car loan and other personal expenses instead of using them for payroll and business-related expenses.

See all of the DOJ's recent activity related to the coronavirus pandemic here. NAFCU will continue to monitor PPP fraud and the Small Business Administration's to detect and deter such fraud.