Thu. Acts reported in a PPP loan fraud case in Louisiana may constitute wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and other false claims. Sun. They were approved on 04/30/2020 by the SBA for an amount of 454079 USD. Woman Being Watched By The Feds After Receiving $20K PPP Loan, Launches GoFundMe To Pay It Back, Says She Has Three Kids And Cant Go To Jail, social media model trying to get home from All Star Weekend, Two Tennessee Women Jailed After Being Caught Attempting To Use Fake $1 Million Bill At Dollar General, Claim They Did Not Know It Was Fake, Second GoFundMe Account Setup For 2000s Bad Boy Rapper, Black Rob Funeral Expenses, Campaign Ends After Raising $3,500. Complaints can also be filed online here. New Orleans, Louisiana On September 9, 2022, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the indictment of Sharnae Every (Every), age 27, of Houston, Texas, who was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and two counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. 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. 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. To me, its like looting after a hurricane. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. Based on the data, between $706,982,622 and $1,377,632,622 have been loaned through the Payroll Protection Program to businesses in New Orleans, LA. In Denton, 97% of the . The FBI and United States Department of Labor are investigating the matter and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward Warner. Nearly a dozen of those people took out two loans. New Orleans, Louisiana - On September 9, 2022, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the indictment of Sharnae Every ("Every"), age 27, of Houston, Texas, who was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and two counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code . BATON ROUGE, La. A PPP loan fraud case in Louisiana may involve the vast waste of federal funds for personal gain. EVERYprimarily used Cash App to receive the initial payments. 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. Some pages on this website may contain affiliate links, ads, promotions, or other types of links to other websites, businesses, or products. You can search and filter the list of PPP loans.
If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00. PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) and Bank Fraud Enforcement Act and the COVID-19 EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) Fraud Statute of Limitations Act establish 10-year statutes of limitations. Both received a PPP loan for $20,832. 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. 1-14. According to the indictment, Every established a fictional company called Natural Hair Afro, LLC, Houma, LA 70360 and used this fictitious company name on nearly all of the fraudulent PPP loan applications. Bank fraud He is expected to be arraigned on . This website is owned and operated by BKHagar, LLC. He is accused of using the PPP loan to buy "$85,000 in jewelry, including a Rolex Presidential watch, a diamond bracelet, a 5.73-carat diamond ring for himself, and to pay $40,000 for child support," within days of receiving the funds. A San Fernando Valley, California, man has been indicted for committing Payment Protection Program fraud amounting to $1.7 million, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. (Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus). Baton Rouge . 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. However, during that time period, the rate of crime dropped by 27% - - violent crime decreased by 11% during that time. EVERYreceived these funds into her Current account, her Cash App account, or into her boyfriends Current account. A PPP loan fraud case in Louisiana may involve the vast waste of federal funds for personal gain. You can search the SBA's entire PPP loan data below. In Louisiana, a federal grand jury . The owner of this website may receive compensation for those links, ads, promotions, and other types of links. That's almost 10% of the program's nearly $800 billion budget. He received $2.1 million in PPP money. Rudolph Brooks, Jr., 45, was arrested earlier this month after allegedly faking tax returns and payroll forms to apply for the $1.5 million loan under the federal government's CARES act. Three women, who were employees of U.S. Copyright 2022 PPP Directory. We do not charge attorney fees unless you receive compensation and you are under no obligation after your initial consultation. She's 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 . The Congregation Of The Roman Catholic Church Of . Researchers estimate that $76 billion in PPP loan money was taken illicitly. The line is staffed 24/7. In less than six months, more than 50 people have been charged with allegedly committing fraud in connection with the program. A total of 8,617 loans were distributed to New Orleans, LA leading to a reported 101,109 jobs being retained. Its pretty bad, some have been able to scam millions out of the government. What the speakership fight is really all about. Constantly updated. These funds were deposited into her Current account, her Cash App account, or her boyfriends Current account. FLORENCE, S.C. . Warren Easton Charter High School Foundation, Inc. Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books), All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing. Mon, Dec 26, 2022 . The tool below can be used to search all publicly released PPP recipients in LA. 1-12. And I, I think we ought to prosecute every single one of them to the full extent of the law, said Kennedy. 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. The Paycheck Protection Program saved millions of jobs. 103 Arrests. If approved, the SBA pays the lender back using federal funds. 89 Arrests. 100 people have been arrested so far. Every one of the phony and fraudulent invoices, bank statements, and Schedule Cs was fabricated by them. 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. Louisiana has a total of 217,333 businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the Small Business Administration. Barbershops were one of the most common businesses to apply. Congress passed the CARES Act on March 29, 2020 which created a $349 billion dollar program of forgivable loans called the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Copyright 2020 WAFB. Copyright 2022 PPP Directory. For one woman this could potential result in jail time. A judges gavel is shown in a file photo. Loan Amount: $1-2 million: Business Address: 478 S. JOHNSTON STREET, 6TH DLOOR: Jobs Retained: 202: City, State Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70112: Date Approved: 2020-04-28: Business Type: Corporation: NAICS Code: 621112: Race or Ethnicity: Unanswered: NAICS Description: Offices of Physicians, Mental Health Specialists: Gender: Male Owned: NAICS Category: Health Care and Social Assistance: Veteran Some content may be sourced from press releases or public information/records. Our firm is committed to providing aggressive legal representation to whistleblowers in Louisiana in order to maximize PPP loan fraud case compensation, while ensuring our clients are protected to the utmost extent of the law during the process. All rights reserved. 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. The DOJ says this ill-gotten money was in many cases used to buy luxury personal items like cars, homes, vacation trips, and jewelry. According to the indictment, Tynea Gray of Donaldsonville and Prairieville between June 2020 and Oct. 2021, Gray submitted unemployment claims in California in her name and in the names of others. AGs Office announces more than 50 arrests connected to Paycheck Protection Program fraud, New proposed Psychiatric Facility could house 'dangerous' mentally ill patients in North Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge General offering free health checks. All Data Obtained From the SBA. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. a washington state tech executive was sentenced today in the western district of washington to two years in prison for perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain covid-19 disaster relief loans guaranteed by the small business administration (sba) through the economic injury disaster loan (eidl) and the paycheck protection program (ppp) under The Veterans Administration, Office of the Inspector General, is an active member of the PRAC Fraud Task Force. For example, if the fraud committed amounted to $2.5 million, the government may recover $7.5 million in damages and the whistleblower may personally recover over $2 million. She either gave a portion of the funds to others or kept it for herself. The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Louisiana state income tax filing begins Monday, Jan. 23, Detectives seek assistance after gunfire damages vehicles in Boutte, UPDATED: I-55, NB and SB, from I-10 Interchange to I-55 Frontage Road near Ponchatoula (Exit 22) St. John and Tangipahoa Parishes Roadwork (tree, Westwego Woman Charged with Theft of Government Funds, Federal Grand Jury Indicts Thibodaux Man for Drug Trafficking Offense. and has been seen on Forbes, CNBC and Fox Business. The loan was facilitated by Cache Valley Bank, LOGAN, UT. Florida man buys $4.9M mansion using funds from PPP loan scheme, Attorney's Office says She was arrested and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm, tampering with a witness and . For more information, visit www.OnderLaw.com or call 1-877-ONDER-LAW. 440 Louisiana St #200, Houston, TX 77002 . Together, more than 5.5 million PPP loans were approved totaling more than $557.8 billion. Of more than the 2,200,000 total crimes committed between . The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses., At time of Lakeisha has managed to raise $3500 back. The $20,000 is now due back to the government, with some possible jail time as well if shes not lucky. Whistleblower protections are in place to ensure Louisiana residents who are privy to PPP loan fraud and abuse can file a report without fear of retribution. For a free, confidential and no-obligation consultation please fill out our short online contact form and one of our whistleblower attorneys for PPP loan fraud claims from Louisiana will contact you to answer any of your questions in a confidential consultation. Gray had peoples identifying information through social media and used that to file numerous claims. The PPP offers billions of dollars in potentially forgivable loans to keep workers on the payroll, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Jan 18, 2023 | Louisiana State News, News, Traffic. The lender got to keep a fee based on the size of the loan. OnderLaw, LLC - PPP Loan Fraud Whistleblower
If someone defaults, or cant pay it back, the SBA will still reimburse the lender. Lanier & Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc. Liskow & Lewis, A Professional Law Corporation, Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water, Commercial and Institutional Building Construction, Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbe RT LLC, Other Services (except Public Administration), Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, Academy Of The Sacred Heart Of New Orleans, Associated Office Systems Of Louisiana, LLC, Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging, Carver, Darden, Koretzky, Tessier, Finn, Blossman, & Areaux, LLC, Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings, Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers, Degan, Blanchard & Nash, A Professional Law Corporation, Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities, Estate Of William G. Helis, A Partnership, Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists), Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services, Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services, Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC, All Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services, Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers, The First, A National Banking Association, Lsu School Of Medicine In New Orleans Faculty Group Practice, Offices of Physicians, Mental Health Specialists, Lycee Francais De La Nouvelle Orleans Inc, Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities, Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing, New Orleans College Preparatory Academies. So now, he says agencies must go after anyone who might be taking money theyre not entitled to. They were approved on 04-08-2020 by the SBA for an amount of 460100 USD. For more information on the Department of Justices response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Common PPP Loan Fraud Triggers 1. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. She had one generous person give her $1000. Federal laws such as the Fair Claims Act and similar state laws provide . . Whistleblower protections are in place to ensure Louisiana residents who are privy to PPP loan fraud and abuse can file a report without fear of retribution. Based on the data, between $5,589,989,154 and $10,528,439,154 have been loaned through the Payroll Protection Program to businesses in Louisiana. (WAFB) - Since the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) launched to help businesses pay their employees to prevent great losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some people have of course tried to exploit the program and defraud the federal government of money. Search. Authorities are . Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Edward Rivera, COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator, are prosecuting this case. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Edward Rivera, COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator. Louisiana has a total of 217,333 businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the Small Business Administration. Name Jobs Reported Current Loan Loan Forgiveness; Amount ($) Date Approved Amount ($) Date; SHELTON RESTAURANT GROUP LLC: 500: 4,746,176: April 9, 2020: 4,802,480 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. Using that public data, the 9 News Investigators took a close look at PPP loans given out in Louisiana. 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. EVERY advertised under various aliases on Facebook to recruit individuals to obtain money from the PPP program. BATON ROUGE, La. Speak with Dr. Oberheiden today for a free consultation at 888-680-1745. The Veterans Administrations Office of Inspector General participates in the PRAC Fraud Task Force. The Justice Department has charged 57 people, including "coordinated criminal rings," who tried to steal more than $157 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. Robert De Niro-backed Nobu restaurants took more than a dozen PPP loans worth as much as $28 million . As a result many are dipping into government funding they dont actually qualify for. 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