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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. Generally, cases where there is any substantial gray areasuch as a lack of unambiguous evidence of fraud or when it wasnt clear what a government rule requiredare far more likely to lead to civil enforcement, or to no enforcement. 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. The Biden administration published a fact sheet on February 2 detailing new measures to prevent fraud in the program. 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. The involvement of a Small Business Administration employee in a pandemic loan fraud case raises questions about the agencys vetting of employees. And there is a lot of gray area in the Paycheck Protection Program, partly because the Small Business Administrations rules for the program changed repeatedly and were unclear, and because Congress created loose criteria for loan eligibility and allowed applicants to self-certify their information. 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. Both the outgoing Trump administration and the Biden administration appear to have learned lessons from the fraud that occurred in 2020. Louisiana Workforce Commission Suspected Fraud Form. A lock ( To disguise the fraud, family members moved the proceeds through several bank accounts held in different names, according to the Justice Department. 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. Aqeel used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini sports car, according to the Justice Department. But the government could have implemented these safeguards from the beginning, which may have prevented significant levels of apparent fraud in the program. The PPP loan forgiveness is not subject to Louisiana state income tax. When the bank froze the funds, they froze as well, conducting Internet searches for topics related to PPP fraud. The Federal Trade Commission wrote in February that, Last year, we received 99,650 reports of fraud involving business or personal loans, compared with 43,920 reports in 2019, before the pandemic began. Unlike the previous round of the PPP, loan guaranty approval is now contingent on passing SBA fraud checks, Treasurys Do Not Pay database, and public records, the fact sheet states. EVERY created all of the false and fraudulent invoices, bank statements, and Schedule Cs. But such gaps can create ambiguities that muddy the waters in overseeing spending., Still, much can be done with the data that does exist. 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. Nick Schwellenbach is a Senior Investigator at POGO. EVERY received these funds into her Current account, her Cash App account, or into her boyfriends Current account. SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA LANDSCAPING LLC. 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. If a company is eligible for a loan and submits certifications in good faith, that company will have nothing to fear from the Civil Division. According to todays indictment, EVERY created a fictitious business called Natural Hair Afro, LLC, Houma, LA 70360 and used this fictitious business name on nearly all of the fraudulent PPP loan applications. Data analysts at the inspector generals office have been combing through Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loan data to look for markers of potential fraud, such as repeat loan applicants from the same physical addresses, Grossman told POGO. Both the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Louisiana Attorney General have encouraged the community to report suspected fraud. 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. We have a lot of qui tam cases that have been brought forward, Grossman told POGO, generally referring to False Claims Act complaints filed by private individuals. However, industry insiders say the barbershop industry is largely cash-based, making it easy to operate under the radar. 9,060 loans. You have to understand from the lenders perspective, really, theyre just looking at income. how to get to quezon avenue mrt station Uncovering hot babes since 1919. As former federal prosecutor Tarek Helou told the Wall Street Journal, The scandal is whats legal, not whats illegal., Lenders may also be more likely to face civil enforcement than criminal enforcement. These cases further highlight the ways individuals appear to have taken advantage of lax oversight in the program. Businesses applying for a PPP loan must provide documentation to confirm that they have previously paid employees the compensation represented in the loan application. 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. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, there have been dozens of people charged with fraud nationwide and there are five pending Federal civil procedures where agencies are looking to get back $2.3 million worth of fraudulent assets including two high-end cars, a house, and cash. 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. Congress also authorized the Small Business Administrations existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to lend in response to the pandemic, and nearly $202 billion in loans through that program have been approved as of April 1. BATON ROUGE, La. (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. He allegedly sought to obtain a total of more than $1.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans, at least $937,000 of which he successfully obtained. This map is your interactive guide to confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from the coronavirus around the state, nation and world. The rebates, funded by the CARES Act, are subject to Louisiana state income tax. 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. But even with an allegedly corrupt insider, a loan system with adequate checks should have prevented Greenbergs loans from being approved. As of late March, the department has obtained 48 convictions. Normally, the agency can require loan applicants to fill out a form allowing the agency to verify their tax information with the Internal Revenue Service. As of this month, weve seized over $580 million from over 23,000 fraudulent EIDL loans., Weve got a process in place that once weve identified, for instance, a bank account that has money sitting in it, that was deposited through a fraudulent EIDL loan, we contact the Secret Service, and they have a method to go in and seize those funds, Grossman said. At the request of WAFB, the Louisiana Board of Barber Examiners also searched their apprentice, student, barber, and shop records for those eight names and addresses, and came up empty as well. 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. 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. 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. Mr. Santemore's pleaded guilty on April 27, 2022, and was sentenced on July 25, 2022 but the terms of his sentence are under seal. This case was brought in New Orleans, Louisiana. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today the indictment of SHARNAE EVERY (EVERY), age 27, of Houston, Texas, who was charged with one (1) count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and two (2) counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. Government and federal taxpayers writ large arent the only victims of fraud in the pandemic lending programs. 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. Does something look fishy to you? That watchdog office has recommended that the agency use data analysis as a means to detect potentially ineligible and fraudulent applications.. Lock The DOJ says this ill-gotten money was in many cases used to buy luxury personal items like cars, homes, vacation trips, and jewelry. Click here to report information on Amazon warehouses. Showing 50 of 9,060 results. One case involves Dinesh Sah, a Dallas-area man, who obtained $17.3 million after having sought a $24.8 million loan. 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. 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. According to the SBA, lenders are responsible for vetting applications and making sure the applicant is telling the truth in whatever way they see fit. project, POGO has been examining equitable access to government loans, grants, and contracts. But in the year since the CARES Act became law, it has received nearly 150,000 hotline complaints, representing a 19,500% increase over prior years, according to a staff memo from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. 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.. 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. The forgivable loans were meant to cover payroll for employees and, later, other eligible expenses at a time when customers werent coming in. According to the Board of Barber Examiners, to legally run a barbershop, an owner must have a business license and a barber license if they are cutting hair even if that business is run out of a home. $56,095 AVERAGE PPP LOAN. GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF NORTH LOUISIANA, INC. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF NORTHWEST LOUISIANA, ROSS H DIES DDS & BENJAMIN A BEACH DDS, LLC, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, Other Services (except Public Administration). The Veterans Administration, Office of the Inspector General, is an active member of the PRAC Fraud Task Force. Report it to the Small Business Administrations with just a few clicks. Some investigations begin with complaints received through the watchdogs hotline, and others come from referrals by federal agencies or state and local law enforcement. (He also applied for a separate loan just days before being indicted.) *** For media inquiries, contact: We are concerned only with actionable fraud. He added that, in selecting enforcement targets, we will follow the law, and we will not pursue companies that access CARES Act programs in good faith and in compliance with the rules.. New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. Eastern District of Louisiana This interactive map provides a picture of the ranks of the unemployed at the national, state and county level. You can search the SBA's entire PPP loan data below. Copyright 2020 WAFB. 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. The auditor found that the deficiencies were caused by an inadequate entity wide control environment.. DAVID RAINES COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. Congress reversed course when it passed a new law on December 27, which authorized more coronavirus loans. EVERY primarily used Cash App to receive the initial payments. 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. 8851 center dr la mesa, ca 91942; chamberlain graduation 2023; fun sober things to do on a friday night. 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