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Government Loan Programs

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to fraud in government loan programs. You may also be interested in the following pages:

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February 17, 2023

Two more defendants in a massive fraud scheme against the IRS and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have been sentenced to roughly 3 years in prison each.  Using his California-based tax preparation business, Mana Tax Services, Thanh Rudin and co-conspirator Seir Havana submitted false income tax returns for at least nine professional athletes, causing $19 million in losses to the IRS.  Rudin and Havana then submitted false applications for PPP loans on behalf of small businesses, shell companies, and other business entities, causing millions more in losses to the PPP.  In October 2022, Rudin’s brother, Quin Rudin, was sentenced to 10 years for his role in the scheme.  USAO EDVA

January 24, 2023

Popular Bank was fined $2.3 million by the Federal Reserve Board following an investigation into its processing of Paycheck Protection Program loans.  Popular Bank was approved as a PPP lender by the Small Business Administration, and was required to follow the Bank Secrecy Act and program guidelines, including verification of customer identity and the documentation, investigation, and reporting of suspicious activities.  The Board’s Consent Order found that in August 2020, the Bank processed and funded six PPP loans, totaling approximately $1.1 million, despite having detected that the loan applications contained significant indicia of potential fraud.  The Bank self-reported to the Board.  Fed

October 5, 2022

Quin Ngoc Rudin has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after causing more than $62 million in losses to the IRS and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) while on supervised release for another fraud scheme.  Through his California-based tax preparation business, Mana Tax Services, Rudin and his brother Thanh had filed a series of false PPP loan applications, with supporting false income tax returns, on behalf of professional athletes, small businesses, shell companies, and other business entities.  His actions caused over $19 million in losses to the IRS, and over $43 million in losses to the PPP.  USAO EDVA

November 16, 2021

Richard Ayvazyan was sentence to 17 years in prison, his wife Marietta Terabelian to six years, and his brother Artur Ayvazyan to five years, following their convictions at trial on charges related to their scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan COVID-19 relief funds.  The defendants used dozens of false identities to submit fraudulent applications for approximately 150 PPP and EIDL loans, supporting applications with false and fictitious documents including fake identity documents, tax documents and payroll records. DOJ; USAO CD Cal

August 26, 2021

The owner of jet charter company All in Jets dba JetReady, Seth Bernstein, has agreed to pay $287,055 to resolve allegations that he misappropriated company Paycheck Protection Program loan proceeds for his personal use.  Whistleblower Victoria Hablitzel, a former JetReady employee, reported defendant’s conduct by filing a qui tam action, and will receive a relator’s share of $57,411DOJ; USAO SD FL

As COVID-19 Stimulus Funds Flow, DOJ Puts Fraudsters on Notice and Calls Whistleblowers “Essential”

Posted  04/2/21
On March 11th, President Biden signed The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), a sweeping economic stimulus plan that will pump $1.9 trillion into the US economy. In addition to direct relief to Americans, ARPA includes record-setting government spending in numerous areas to speed recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession. As we have previously written,...

COVID Fraud a Year on from the Onset of the Pandemic

Posted  02/19/21
coronavirus-map
The COVID-19 pandemic has raged across the world over the last year, causing widespread harm both to humanity and the economy. Even in these trying times, fraudsters have not let up and have found ways to exploit the pandemic for personal gain. As we move into the one-year anniversary of the pandemic starting with the United States we look back on the ways programs intended for relief have been exploited, and a few of...

COVID Frauds of the Week: The DOJ Drumbeat Goes On, with Help from an Investigative Journalist

Posted  02/5/21
N95 Masks
This past week, the drumbeat of government enforcement actions to address rampant fraud in COVID-19 contracts and small business loans continued, with a remarkable assist from an investigative journalist.

An Investigative Journalist Takes a Ride – and Discovers PPE Fraud

In Virginia, Robert S. Stewart, Jr., the founder, and president of an Arlington-based company, ironically named Federal Government Experts LLC,...

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries of 2020

Posted  01/14/21
Lincoln bill zoomed on his face
This year’s Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries demonstrates the False Claims Act’s power to combat an array of corporate misconduct spanning diverse industries. In 2020, the United States recovered hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds obtained through claims rendered false by bribery and bid-rigging schemes, mortgage underwriting fraud, avoided import duties, fraudulent loan applications, and...

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2020

Posted  01/14/21
man pocketing cash in suit
The U.S. government has many enforcement options for financial and investment fraud, including those that provide for whistleblower rewards such as the SEC Whistleblower Program, the CFTC Whistleblower Program, and the IRS Whistleblower Program.  These programs, along with a new one under the Anti-Money-Laundering Act of 2020, are open for business and promise to pay millions of dollars in whistleblower awards in...
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