Director for the Louisiana SBA District Office Michael Ricks said while that information may raise some red flags on the surface, he explained that not complying with an industrys licensing requirements does not necessarily disqualify someone from being eligible for a PPP loan. Report it to the Small Business Administrations with just a few clicks. Kindambu applied for two Paycheck Protection Program loans representing Papillon Holdings, Inc. and Papillon Air, Inc., according to court documents. An internal analysis last fall by the Small Business Administration identified over 2 million approved PPP loan guarantees worth some $189 billion that were potentially not in compliance with the law, though it may turn out that many of those loans were not fraudulent. The PPP was developed to ease the pain of COVID-19 economic restraints on working Americans. However, both Kennedy and Ricks say the good the program did far outweigh any possible fraud. 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 Ryan Summers is a research fellow for POGO. 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.. The CARES Act provided $600 weekly supplemental unemployment benefits for individuals out of work for reasons related to the pandemic. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS While not all of these new reports can be attributed to the government relief effort, they are a sizeable share of the increase., Similarly, a February report by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee stated that Identity theft is on the rise and has been exploited by bad actors to obtain pandemic response funds, such as unemployment insurance benefits, PPP loans, and EIDLs., Grossman told POGO, There are also PPP and EIDL cases were aware of that are being investigated by state and local authorities, because my agents out in the field get calls from state police and local police departments, where they have received complaints from citizens on identity theft, for example.. According to the MITRE Corporation, a mismatched zip code or insufficient award description doesnt seem particularly egregious. Help us crowdsource fraud detection in the PPP program! 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. 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. A vast number of referrals to the Small Business Administrations (SBA) Office of Inspector General involve complaints of identity theft, particularly related to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Both programs lacked basic anti-fraud safeguards and the Small Business Administration exercised insufficient oversight, according to the agencys watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, and congressional committees that have investigated the programs. 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. Normally, the office of inspector general receives between 700 and 800 hotline complaints or tips a year. 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. He warned that increased loan volume, loan amounts, and expedited loan processing timeframes may make it more difficult for SBA to identity red flags in loan applications. The inspector general called for the agency to put in place sufficient controls, but the agency did not heed the watchdogs warnings at that time. In addition, the defendants falsely listed the same employees in applications for different nail salons to support the loan amounts applied for, and some purported employees were listed as employees of as many as seven different nail salons during the same time period. (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.) He also opened bank accounts and lines of credit at financial institutions and credit card companies in the names of his elderly victims, according to the Justice Department. 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. NGUYEN, VICTORIA HO, and DAT HO are members of a family that owns a chain of over 15 nail salons called Victoria Nails & Spa and other companies (the Victoria Companies) in or around the New York metropolitan area, including the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Long Island. The PPP loan was created through the March 2020 CARES Act as a lifeline for businesses struggling through the coronavirus pandemic. 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 prosecution of this case is being handled by the Offices Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. The law firm K&L Gates, however, wrote in December that since Congress allowed lenders to rely on borrowers self-certified information, that should decrease the likelihood that otherwise law abiding financial service providers would face government scrutiny for the fraudulent acts of their borrowers., The role of employees who become whistleblowers may emerge as a significant factor in civil Paycheck Protection Program cases. Brian Grossman, the Small Business Administrations assistant inspector general for investigations, told POGO that as of March 10, 2021, the watchdog office had 91 active Paycheck Protection Program investigations and 121 active Economic Injury Disaster loan investigations. There is abundant evidence that there was too little upfront vetting of loan applications in both the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. An indictment includes text and email messages involving creating tax records for some of the companies. mike vernon royal household; are there snakes in gran canaria; shooting in laurel, md yesterday. The program began issuing loans again in January 2021, and some businesses are eligible for a second loan. You know, is it something that they should have done? Nearly 11.5 million people filed applications, resulting in more than $792 billion worth of loans. Has the curve flatten in my town? This is your state and county equivalent level look at how many have gotten a dose or doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Department of Justice, and in particular my office here in the Middle District of Louisiana, is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who abuse the system for personal gain and will use every resource at our disposal to protect those federal dollars and the businesses they are intended to help. 9,060 loans. Have a question about Government Services? Act 12 of the 2020 First Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature provided for a one-time $250 rebate for eligible workers earning $50,000 per year or less, who spent at least 200 hours responding to or mitigating the COVID-19 crisis from March 22, 2020, through May 14, 2020. You can search the SBA's entire PPP loan data below. Name Jobs Reported Current Loan Loan Forgiveness; Amount ($) Date Approved Amount ($) Date; CONQUEST COMPLETION SERVICES, LLC: 129: 6,940,800: July 30, 2020: 7,069,157 Your Address, Corporation Income/Franchise Extension Request. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. Allegedly misrepresenting the number of employees on their payroll to obtain the funding, they deposited this money into accounts controlled solely by them. VICTORIA HO will be presented tomorrow in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. of Loans Jobs Retained They allegedly exploited a program designed to provide vital funding for small businesses that are legitimately struggling in the midst of the pandemic. 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. All rights reserved. Funds disseminated through this program are subject to Louisiana state income tax. If Congress amends the underutilized Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, efforts by inspectors general to fight fraud in pandemic related spending would be enhanced, according to Horowitzs testimony. 61000. I dont know why it is that that some people take advantage of a program like this in a time of crisis. PPP Loan Recipient List By State Louisiana 217,332 TOTAL PPP LOANS $12.2B TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT $56,095 AVERAGE PPP LOAN 6 AVG COMPANY SIZE Louisiana has a total of 217,332 businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the Small Business Administration. According to the Justice Department, Didier Kindambu obtained two loans by creating fraudulent payroll documentation for each business.. In one of the most complex cases to emerge since POGOs original analysis, at least seven individuals were indicted in a scheme that allegedly involved over 80 applications seeking a total of $30 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans. As of late March, the department has obtained 48 convictions. While the multi-million dollar PPP loan scam cases get the national headlines, federal prosecutors are going after PPP loan fraud in all amounts. Firm estimates of fraud related to CARES Act spending, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, may not be available until many more cases are brought and more analysis has been conductedpotentially years away. Aqeel used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini sports car, according to the Justice Department. Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: As alleged, these defendants conspired to rip off the SBAs COVID-relief small business loan program and financial institutions by lying about how many people they employed in their family business and how much they paid those employees. Click here to report information on Amazon warehouses. Additionally, CARES II provides up to $300 in weekly supplemental unemployment benefits. Since last October, when POGO published a report examining trends in Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud at the programs six-month mark, several eye-popping cases of alleged fraud have emerged. According to an indictment, Sah submitted at least 15 fraudulent applications on behalf of at least 10 companies. (The latest round, which began in January, allowed some applicants to receive a second Paycheck Protection Program loan. She's accused of making up fake businesses to collect more than $20,000 through. 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. The DOJ says this ill-gotten money was in many cases used to buy luxury personal items like cars, homes, vacation trips, and jewelry. They have never said they won't seek prison time for below a minimum dollar amount. He said that lenders have been extremely cooperative during investigations and their suspicious activity reports have been very useful.. 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. The line is staffed 24/7. Public Information Director Saintvils attorney declined to comment. 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. So were trying to reverse that. The PPP loans are forgivable under certain conditions and the loan forgiveness is not taxable income for federal tax purposes. EVERY falsely certified that the applications and the information provided in the supporting documents were true and accurate when she electronically submitted the fraudulent PPP loan applications. In connection with these loan applications, the defendants falsely and grossly overstated the number of employees at the Victoria Companies and wages paid to those employees in order to obtain larger loans. 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. BATON ROUGE, La. It soon became apparent that the Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs setup also made it particularly susceptible to fraud. to fraudulently obtain the loan money. 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. This map is your interactive guide to confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from the coronavirus around the state, nation and world. SBA has fired employees and contractors who were involved in approving loans to themselves or who inappropriately influenced loan approval. In January, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of California obtained the first settlement in a Paycheck Protection Program civil enforcement case, against an online retailer called SlideBelts Inc. The cash injection and potentially forgivable loans were . UNION VETERINARY CLINIC, INC. 65780. In July, the agencys inspector general warned of potentially rampant fraud in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. 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. Origin Bank. Click on a company's name to see additional loan details. Unfortunately, the owners of Victoria Nails & Spa saw this program as their own personal piggy bank. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael C. McGinnis and Sagar K. Ravi are in charge of the prosecution. The inspector general offices workload has increased significantly, Grossman said. The PPP loans are forgivable under certain conditions and the loan forgiveness is not taxable income for federal tax purposes. This table shows the top 5 industries in Louisiana by number . U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil enforcementwhere the evidentiary burden is lower than in criminal casesis another way of holding individuals and companies accountable. 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. BATON ROUGE, La. 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. Please click here for further information. Does something look fishy to you? complaint (20-mag-12908). For more information on the Departments response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. It Got a PPP Loan. 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. When they believe they have unearthed sufficient evidence to allege the government has been defrauded, these individuals file qui tam lawsuits, Grossman said. For media inquiries, contact: I want to thank the U.S. Attorneys Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served., FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr said: The benefits offered by the CARES Act for PPP loans were established to help small businesses survive during the pandemic. 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. 2020 Louisiana Individual Income Tax returns and payments are due Monday, May 17, 2021. 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. In email and text exchanges, defendants acknowledged that a number of the companies did no legitimate business, disqualifying them from receiving the loans. Use our searchable database to see who in Louisiana received funds. 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 line is staffed 24/7. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Published 8:46 am Sunday, September 11, 2022 . Its the first public case of fraud in these pandemic loan programs attributed to corruption within the agencys own ranks. Does something look fishy to you? 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 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. Given the focus of the PPP to support employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Robinson Bradshaw firm wrote last May, it is easy to imagine how a dissatisfied employee observing imperfect business conduct in securing a PPP loan or applying loan proceeds could use that insider information to bring a qui tam action under the FCA.. 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. EVERY charged $45.00 to $120.00 from the individuals she recruited to prepare and submit the fraudulent PPP application. These cases further highlight the ways individuals appear to have taken advantage of lax oversight in the program. 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. 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. Whistleblowers Said This Company Is a Fake Small Business. Those who suspect PPP fraud or may have been a victim of such fraud should contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline at 866-720-5721. (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. Louisiana PPP loan fraud cases may be initiated by employees of banks who disperse PPP funds in Louisiana, employees of companies who have received CARES Act aid in Louisiana, or any other individual who has inside information on a PPP loan fraud case originating in Louisiana. Based on the fraudulent PPP loan applications submitted by NGUYEN, VICTORIA HO, and DAT HO, a total of more than $13 million in PPP loans were approved for the Victoria Companies and approximately $7.8 million in loan proceeds were disbursed into bank accounts controlled by NGUYEN, DAT HO, and other family members. (212) 637-2600, Human Trafficking & Child Sexual Exploitation, Department of Justice Harassment Prevention Resource, Download Ngoc Manh Nguyen et al. Jean Rabbittand Kevin Aguilarwere charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to engage in monetary transaction charges. THE DELAHOUSSAYE CO., INC. $150K . 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. This table shows the top 5 industries in Louisiana by number of loans awarded, with average loan amounts and number of jobs reported. At $367 billion, the amount of disaster funds provided through the EIDL COVID program is more than three times the amount of disaster loan funds approved for all disasters combined since the SBA was created in 1953, wrote Jovita Carranza, then-head of the Small Business Administration, in December 2020. Data is available, but its reliability for the purpose of assessing whether Paycheck Protection Program loans are reaching the underserved communities that Congress wanted prioritized is limited because the demographic data is incomplete. 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. 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. The loans have to be repaid with low interest. In July, banks filed nearly seven times the average number of suspicious activity reports. Thats more than 10 times the fraud recoveries five years after the 2009 stimulus became law. As part of its own COVID-19 relief spending tracker For instance, the department may decline cases involving smaller-dollar amounts, especially in busier U.S. attorneys offices around the country, Grossman said. The number of potentially questionable loans approved through these programs is vast, as will be the task of determining how many of those loans were fraudulent or otherwise improper. And this is not the only case. And if theyre not interested in prosecuting, for whatever reason, we dont further pursue it at that time., Many of the cases are moving quickly, despite their complexity. The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. | Inaccuracies in the data or missing data can undermine oversight. edgewater hotel haunted; can uk consultant doctors work in usa; is spitfire a compliment SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA LANDSCAPING LLC. A lock ( 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. 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. Yet if there is sufficient evidence, the government can still seize stolen money even in the absence of criminal charges. Click here for information on the investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department. 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. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address POGO found that 11 of the 15 loans were funded. BATON ROUGE, La. Investigators say those accused made false statements about things like how many people they employ, their average monthly revenue, and payroll figures. GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF NORTH LOUISIANA INC. But in March 2021, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General issued a report that found that lenders last year issued more than one Paycheck Protection Program loan to 4,260 borrowers with the same tax identification number and borrowers with the same business name and address. Those loans were worth a total of $692 million. All totaled, in that city of 43,000 people lenders approved $1.3 million dollars just for barbershop owners. NGUYEN, 44, and VICTORIA HO, 31, both of Hicksville, New York, and DAT HO, 33, of the Bronx, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of major fraud against the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to make false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 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