The National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) is in Baton Rouge and reports can be filed here. woman indicted for preparing 110 fraudulent PPP loans. The PPP loan forgiveness is not subject to Louisiana state income tax. Civil enforcementwhere the evidentiary burden is lower than in criminal casesis another way of holding individuals and companies accountable. 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. Sen. J.D. 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 Find out how you can get involved and stay up to date with our work. The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. As the lending programs ramped up last summer, there was a spike in suspicious activity reports from banks and other lenders flagging potential fraud. But, in contrast to the False Claims Act where the reward is a minimum 10% of the recovery, FIRREAs whistleblower reward is capped at $1.6 million. In Louisiana, a federal grand jury recently indicted a Plaquemine woman named Lestreonia Rodrigue on fraud charges. The Justice Department has accused numerous defendants of using Paycheck Protection Program loans for unlawful purposes, such as purchasing private planes, sports cars, and taking pricey trips to Las Vegas casinos. In less than six months, more than 50 people have been charged with allegedly committing fraud in connection with the program. Report it to the Small Business Administrations with just a few clicks. But such gaps can create ambiguities that muddy the waters in overseeing spending., Still, much can be done with the data that does exist. This map is your interactive guide to confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from the coronavirus around the state, nation and world. Complaints can also be filed online here. Investigators say those accused made false statements about things like how many people they employ, their average monthly revenue, and payroll figures. BATON ROUGE, La. 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. 8851 center dr la mesa, ca 91942; chamberlain graduation 2023; fun sober things to do on a friday night. When they believe they have unearthed sufficient evidence to allege the government has been defrauded, these individuals file qui tam lawsuits, Grossman said. Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Kansas Louisiana Maine Maryland Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma . The PPP loan was created through the March 2020 CARES Act as a lifeline for businesses struggling through the coronavirus pandemic. An official website of the United States government. Some of these qui tam lawsuits are traditional whistleblower cases, but others involve individuals who are slicing and dicing the data that has been made available about loans, according to Grossman. Summary of PPP Loans in Louisiana. 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. Filed under investigation POGO was unable to reach Edwards before publication. Does something look fishy to you? 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. ), My guess is when were all said and done, [the fraud rate is] going to be significantly higher than 5% in the case of the CARES Act.. louisiana ppp loan arrestsanxiety support groups columbia, sc Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation fidelity express money order refund thamani ya rupia ya mjerumani 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. (The latest round, which began in January, allowed some applicants to receive a second Paycheck Protection Program loan. However, not everyone taking part in the federal program was looking to keep their business doors open. For example, in the city of Gonzales, there were 70 people claiming to own a barbershop who applied for loans. 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. Horowitz, the Justice Departments inspector general, recently testified to a House panel examining COVID-19 loan fraud that a legislative reform could help address the problem of fraud in smaller dollar amounts. Maybe, maybe not all.. mike vernon royal household; are there snakes in gran canaria; shooting in laurel, md yesterday. BATON ROUGE, La. As far as the state of Louisiana is concerned, there is no requirement that a sole proprietor have a specific license at the state, said Ricks. What happens when the watchdog tasked with overseeing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country doesnt do its job? Whistleblowers Said This Company Is a Fake Small Business. Normally, our agents work a contract or procurement fraud case those can take several years to investigate, Grossman said. 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. Allegedly, the family sought, ultimately unsuccessfully, to use the funds to purchase a $3.7 million mansion in Disney Worlds Golden Oak gated community. 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. The cases involve attempts to steal a total of more than $175 million from the program, with actual losses to the federal government totaling more than $70 million, the DOJ reports. Even if the debt is cleared, the loans can end up wreaking havoc on individuals and businesses credit scores. According to the MITRE Corporation, a mismatched zip code or insufficient award description doesnt seem particularly egregious. Pape and Jung used more than $3600 from the fraud scheme to pay for a stay at a resort in San Antonio, Texas, according to the Justice Department. Loans through that program were directly processed by the Small Business Administration, while in the Paycheck Protection Program, loans were primarily processed by banks and other lenders. An attorney for Aqeel, Tommy T. Mingledorff, told POGO by email that these allegations are denied. PPP Fraud in Pride, Louisiana. And this is not the only case. 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.. 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 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. Using that public data, the 9 News Investigators took a close look at PPP loans given out in Louisiana. One case involved applications for hundreds of allegedly fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster loans and at least a $1.3 million loss to the federal government. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Offices Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. 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. Copyright 2020 WAFB. Both the outgoing Trump administration and the Biden administration appear to have learned lessons from the fraud that occurred in 2020. portville central school yearbooks; jennette mccurdy astroseek. Origin Bank. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says as of Aug. 8, more than 5.2 million forgivable loans have been approved, at a total of more than $525 billion. judy norton children; court ordered community service california So were trying to reverse that. When we receive complaints on PPP and EIDL fraud, we immediately coordinate with the Department of Justice, to see what their interest is in the case. Louisiana Workforce Commission Suspected Fraud Form. However, industry insiders say the barbershop industry is largely cash-based, making it easy to operate under the radar. It Got a PPP Loan. Official websites use .gov That situation may arise in cases of apparent fraud involving Economic Injury Disaster loan advance grants of $10,000 or less. Greenbergs insider was a loan officer who began working for the agency in May 2020. Senator Kennedy admits the program may have had some holes in it, due to how quickly it was rolled out, and the loan program has been updated many times to expand eligibility. 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. 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. 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. He said that lenders have been extremely cooperative during investigations and their suspicious activity reports have been very useful.. Normally, the office of inspector general receives between 700 and 800 hotline complaints or tips a year. (212) 637-2600, Human Trafficking & Child Sexual Exploitation, Department of Justice Harassment Prevention Resource, Download Ngoc Manh Nguyen et al. 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. Gibsland Bank & Trust Company. 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. The PPP loans are forgivable under certain conditions and the loan forgiveness is not taxable income for federal tax purposes. Red Flags: The First Year of COVID-19 Loan Fraud Cases, $189 Billion in Questionable Paycheck Protection Program Loans, With over $189 billion in questionable Paycheck Protection Program loans, law enforcement has just scratched the surface, By Another large identity theft case led to charges against Jeremie Saintvil of Delray Beach, Florida in March. 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. Sah submitted falsified tax and payroll documentation in which he claimed to have numerous employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll expenses, according to a Justice Department press release, but none of the businesses he sought loans for had any employees. Meant to help small businesses keep workers on the payroll, the Paycheck Protection Program offers loans of up to $10 million that can be forgiven in full if recipients meet certain employee retention requirements. Ryan Summers EVERY prepared and submitted false and fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan applications via various online portals including, but not limited, to Blueacorn. Linda Miller, the deputy executive director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, told Federal News Radio in September, My guess is when were all said and done, [the fraud rate is] going to be significantly higher than 5% in the case of the CARES Act. If it is just 5% of the combined $957 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster loans and advance grants, that would still be about $48 billion in fraud. We dont have the capacity to work everything that comes in, Grossman told POGO. 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. In fraud cases where there is no apparent misuse of a loan, civil enforcement may be more likely than criminal prosecution. New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In email and text exchanges, defendants acknowledged that a number of the companies did no legitimate business, disqualifying them from receiving the loans. 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. 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. 217,332 TOTAL PPP LOANS. I dont know why it is that that some people take advantage of a program like this in a time of crisis. 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. 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. 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. This March, the Government Accountability Office added the Small Business Administrations emergency loan programs for small businesses to its biennial high-risk list of executive branch programs vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or that need transformation.. The Veterans Administration, Office of the Inspector General, is an active member of the PRAC Fraud Task Force. My directive to SBA and to the Department of Justice will be to work with our state attorneys general, work with local DHS, work with local sheriffs, and make sure people understand if you steal money, these are these are finite resources, said Kennedy. 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 You know, is it something that they should have done? 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. Allegedly misrepresenting the number of employees on their payroll to obtain the funding, they deposited this money into accounts controlled solely by them. The auditor found that the deficiencies were caused by an inadequate entity wide control environment.. 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. Both the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Louisiana Attorney General have encouraged the community to report suspected fraud. More than 1,400 institutions had filed SARs related to PPP, and more than 900 institutions had filed SARs related to EIDL.. (Eligible companies and nonprofit organizations can apply for and receive both Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans.). In connection with loan applications for COVID-19 relief available from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the SBA, the defendants falsely and grossly overstated the number of employees and payroll at their nail salons and other businesses through fraudulent and doctored payroll and tax records in order to obtain larger loans. The three Economic Injury Disaster loans Greenberg obtained should have triggered red flags galore. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established by the CARES Act, provides small businesses with funding for payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. According to Grossman, the Small Business Administration watchdog official, all of our ongoing investigations involve individual borrowers rather than lenders. As of late March, the department has obtained 48 convictions. 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. The CARES Act precluded the agency from exercising one important check on fraud in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Byron Henderson Banks and other lenders have been filing a huge number of suspicious activity reports to the Treasury Departments Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (better known as FinCEN) related to the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. A picture from that stay shows Pape and Jung celebrating over sparkling wine. Jungs attorney declined to comment, and Papes attorney did not respond to a request for comment. GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF NORTH LOUISIANA INC. Vance's (R-Ohio) call for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)-style plan to help workers and businesses affected by the East Palestine train . Mr. Aqeel asserts his presumption of innocence and demands the United States prove their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. Mingledorff also said, The case is in the pretrial phase of litigation. But, he added, the CARES Act removed that control, calling it a pivotal change.. Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, (CARES II), individuals began receiving automatically a second round of Economic Impact Payments of up to $600 for individuals or $1,200 for married couples and up to $600 for each qualifying child beginning in December. The scale of lending means the potential amount of Economic Injury Disaster loan fraud is staggering. (WAFB) - The Paycheck Protection Program, known as PPP, provided a lifeline for millions of business owners when the pandemic was at its worst. The scandal is whats legal, not whats illegal.. The line is staffed 24/7. This table shows the top 5 industries in Louisiana by number of loans awarded, with average loan amounts and number of jobs reported. 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. Click here for information on the investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department. That story of corruption inside SBA has been overshadowed by other criminal allegations against Greenberg, notably child sex trafficking charges, and a scandal that might bring down a member of Congress. Ryan Summers is a research fellow for POGO. Click here to report information on Amazon warehouses. 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. Additionally, CARES II provides up to $300 in weekly supplemental unemployment benefits. On March 30, the Justice Department unveiled new charges against Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector. The amounts varied from less than $2,000 to more than $20,000. Gaetz has denied the allegations and Greenberg has pleaded not guilty, although Greenbergs attorney and a prosecutor have said in court that he may be striking a plea deal soon. The largest loan paid out was $20,833. VICTORIA HO will be presented tomorrow in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address of Loans Jobs Retained 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. An October inspector general report states that SBA has fired employees and contractors who were involved in approving loans to themselves or who inappropriately influenced loan approval. The Small Business Administration did not respond to questions, but a spokesperson for the agencys inspector general told POGO that we are aware of one employee and two contractors who have been fired for these reasons. (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. Funds disseminated through this program are subject to Louisiana state income tax. Barbershops were one of the most common businesses to apply. 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. The Justice Department has brought charges in at least 56 cases for alleged Paycheck Protection Program fraud, according to a POGO review detailing trends in these first cases. 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 . Check out bed occupancy rate of hospitals. *** For media inquiries, contact: Congress reversed course when it passed a new law on December 27, which authorized more coronavirus loans. Dr. James Hobley: When should you be screened for colon cancer? When the bank froze the funds, they froze as well, conducting Internet searches for topics related to PPP fraud. 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. [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. Theyre not checking licenses. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Many believe a high percentage of these grants were stolen, but some federal prosecutors with heavy caseloads may find it hard to justify 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. Nearly a dozen of those people took out two loans. 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). But the government could have implemented these safeguards from the beginning, which may have prevented significant levels of apparent fraud in the program. The Small Business Administration has released a list of businesses that have received emergency pandemic loans. If you look at the last round [of PPP] and you look at it on a time series, it almost looks like the largest businesses and businesses in high-income neighborhoods received money first and smaller businesses and businesses in low-income neighborhoods received money last, the Small Business Administrations Michael Roth told Politico in March. 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