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. 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). The United States Attorneys Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Veterans Administration, Office of the Inspector General; United States Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General; United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; and the United States Secret Services Cyber Fraud Task Force, consisting of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, Lafourche Parish Sheriffs Office, Thibodeaux Police Department, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation with this matter. 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. 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 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. Ryan Summers is a research fellow for POGO. The Justice Department said law enforcement arrested defendants in Miami on Wednesday and Thursday who officials allege are involved in a "criminal ring" that attempted to steal $24 million in. Former La. Saintvils attorney declined to comment. 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. 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. The offices 44 investigators have been working at least three times the caseload that theyre usually used to working. The FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and other offices of inspectors general are also part of the federal law enforcement effort. A locked padlock Lenders can be liable under the FCA for knowingly certifying ineligible borrowers for PPP loans, including by failing to employ sufficient anti-money laundering protocols, according to a memo from the Cleary Gottlieb law firm. But it may be far greater than the fraud rate seen in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 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. As of this month, weve seized over $580 million from over 23,000 fraudulent EIDL loans.. In addition to automated checks against existing government databases, lenders could have conducted online searches or called businesses neighboring a loan applicant to help establish whether the company seeking the loan is real or is the size it claims to be. That situation may arise in cases of apparent fraud involving Economic Injury Disaster loan advance grants of $10,000 or less. 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 table shows the top 5 industries in Louisiana by number of loans awarded, with average loan amounts and number of jobs reported. 6 AVG COMPANY SIZE. BATON ROUGE, La. In July, banks filed nearly seven times the average number of suspicious activity reports. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Offices Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. AGs Office announces more than 50 arrests connected to Paycheck Protection Program fraud, LSU WR Malik Nabers arrested in New Orleans; prosecutors refuse to charge with condition, Mini workshop to bust myths surrounding sexual health, Experts give tips to prepare for daylight saving time, Health Minute: First at-home flu and COVID test authorized. IRS-Criminal Investigation remains dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that these types of fraud are investigated and the offenders are punished to the fullest extent of the law.. For example, in the city of Gonzales, there were 70 people claiming to own a barbershop who applied for loans. To support his loan applications, Kindambu claimed that Papillon Holdings had $150,000 in monthly payroll expenses and that Papillon Air had over $850,000 in monthly payroll expenses. 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. 66625. The largest loan paid out was $20,833. (In late March, the Justice Department told Congress that it had charged $446.8 million in losses related to PPP. Some of these cases may still be under seal and charges are routinely being unsealed.) The involvement of a Small Business Administration employee in a pandemic loan fraud case raises questions about the agencys vetting of employees. 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. 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. Using that public data, the 9 News Investigators took a close look at PPP loans given out in Louisiana. Does something look fishy to you? ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 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. Click here to report information on Amazon warehouses. On March 30, the Justice Department unveiled new charges against Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector. More due diligence on the part of lenders or the Small Business Administration could have prevented at least some instances of fraud. 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. UNION VETERINARY CLINIC, INC. 65780. All rights reserved. Under the False Claims Act (FCA) as well as the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), either the government or whistleblowers with non-public information can initiate civil enforcement actions. While the Small Business Administration could be doing more with data on the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, the agencys independent watchdog has embraced this work. Other government agencies also submit referrals of potential fraud to the office of inspector general, and suspicious activity reports come in through the financial industry by way of the Treasury Department. 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. POGO has sought additional data from the Small Business Administration, and to improve data collection. Whether bad faith was involved is another matter. Aqeel used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini sports car, according to the Justice Department. DAVID RAINES COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. 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. In remarks before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an influential business lobbying group, last June before the SBA released partial data identifying Paycheck Protection Program recipients of loans above $150,000, then-Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ethan P. Davis said that with the administrations decision to release that information, some have predicted more qui tams as a result., Davis then said, Let me be clear. to give the federal government time to investigate and evaluate the complaint before it becomes public. 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. 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. Analyzing that data for red flags is a way to identity subsets of loans and grants that warrant closer scrutiny and to help direct scarce investigative resources. are moving. Funds disseminated through this program are subject to Louisiana state income tax. 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. Buried within the court filing are allegations that Greenberg bribed an unnamed Small Business Administration insider to fraudulently obtain nearly $433,000 in Economic Injury Disaster 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 In Louisiana, a federal grand jury recently indicted a Plaquemine woman named Lestreonia Rodrigue on fraud charges. Please click here for further information. Federal investigators cannot comment on active investigations or give an estimate on how much fraud may have occurred through federal pandemic relief programs, but a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office of the Middle District of Louisiana confirms there were fraudulent applications submitted in Louisiana through several relief programs including the PPP. It Got a PPP Loan. 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. Help us crowdsource fraud detection in the PPP program! 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. Investigators say those accused made false statements about things like how many people they employ, their average monthly revenue, and payroll figures. As part of its own COVID-19 relief spending tracker 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. Both the outgoing Trump administration and the Biden administration appear to have learned lessons from the fraud that occurred in 2020. Public Service Announcement on Sexual Assault in Public Housing. Even if the debt is cleared, the loans can end up wreaking havoc on individuals and businesses credit scores. 3 Defendants Arrested For Over $13 Million Fraud Scheme To Obtain Loans Intended To Help Small Businesses During COVID-19 Pandemic 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 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. And to improve data collection this table shows the top 5 industries in Louisiana by number of jobs.... 580 million from over 23,000 fraudulent EIDL loans fraud detection in the PPP program weve seized $... 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