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Paycheck Protection Program

Police & Fire
$2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole $2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole
$2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole UPDATE: A scammer from Sussex County who fraudulently collected more than $2 million in federal funds by identifying people who'd been dead for more than a decade as business partners must spend the next three years in federal prison. John Jhong, 54, of Sparta, actually submitted bogus applications for more than $15 million in federal pandemic aid earmarked to help struggling companies during COVID-19, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Jhong "turned these vital relief programs into his personal ATM," spending the more than $2 million he illegally collected on personal expenses, the U.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Multitude Of Government Agencies Victimized Out Of $4M By NJ Man: Feds Multitude Of Government Agencies Victimized Out Of $4M By NJ Man: Feds
Multitude Of Government Agencies Victimized Out Of $4M By NJ Man: Feds A New Jersey man stole more than $4 million through a clutch of schemes that included defrauding three different government programs, authorities charged. Gbenga Akinbode, 33, of Newark, opened a bank account and then used 120 different debit cards to buy $500,000 worth of money orders that were deposited into the account, according to a complaint filed by Homeland Security Investigations in U.S. District Court in Newark. Investigators discovered that the debit cards were funded with $4 million in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, bogus Paycheck Protection Program loans…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
IRS Bags Hundreds Of Tax Cheats, Money Launderers As COVID Relief Fraud Tops $3.2 Billion IRS Bags Hundreds Of Tax Cheats, Money Launderers As COVID Relief Fraud Tops $3.2 Billion
IRS Bags Hundreds Of Tax Cheats, Money Launderers As COVID Relief Fraud Tops $3.2 Billion It wasn't long after the government began offering COVID relief loans three years ago that IRS investigators were hot on the tails of scammers. Since then, agents with IRS Criminal Investigation have pursued 975 tax and money-laundering cases nationwide involving $3.2 billion worth of fraudulently obtained loans, credits and payments meant to help American workers, families, and small businesses who were rocked by the pandemic. Over that time, IRS-CI has kept its conviction rate at nearly 100%, federal authorities say. It has produced indictments against 458 defendants, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
$6.8M COVID-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole $6.8M COVID-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole
$6.8M Covid-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole A dual New York/Florida resident was sentenced in New Jersey to a plea-bargained 51 months in federal prison for fraudulently collecting more than $6.8 million in COVID-19 payroll protection loans -- $3 million of which he lost in the stock market. Gregory J. Blotnick, 35, will have to serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti sentenced Blotnick in Newark to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $4,577,631. Blotnick told the judge last f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More
Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More A Sussex County man who was seized by federal agents as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan admitted fraudulently collecting $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans that he put to personal use, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, used the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – to millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan und…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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IRS Roots Out $440M In Fraud In First Year Of Pandemic Assistance, Hunts For More IRS Roots Out $440M In Fraud In First Year Of Pandemic Assistance, Hunts For More
IRS Roots Out $440M In Fraud In First Year Of Pandemic Assistance, Hunts For More Along with the welcome relief brought by the federal Paycheck Protection Program have come scams, more than 350 of which are tax and money laundering crimes that have totaled $440 million over the past year, the IRS says. On what will be the one-year anniversary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act this Saturday, the service’s top officials pledged to continue rooting out the wrongdoing. “As we continue to navigate through this pandemic, businesses and families continue to struggle through financial hardships,” said Michael Montanez, the special agent in charge o…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief
Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief A Sussex County scammer identified people who’d been dead for years as business partners to help collect $1.9 million from the federal fund established to help struggling companies during COVID-19, authorities charged. John Jhong, 51, of Sparta, also submitted phony IRS documents with bogus Paycheck Protection Program applications to the lenders on behalf of 10 purported businesses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Jhong converted a portion of the money intended for distressed businesses into a cashier’s check “that was used to fund a business account,” Honig said. Congress a ye…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan
Covid-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan A Sussex County man who collected $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans that he wasn't entitled to was about to board a flight to Pakistan when federal agents arrested him, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, took the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – and invested millions in the stock market, made a payment to a luxury car dealership and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan under the federal Paycheck Prote…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ COVID-19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge NJ COVID-19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge
NJ Covid-19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge A North Jersey businessman fraudulently secured nearly $2 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans he wasn't entitled to, then diverted the money into accounts held by family members, including his young children, federal authorities charged. Rocco A. Malanga, 48, of Hackettstown, “used a variety of false statements to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed small businesses,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Thursday. He then diverted the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money to “accounts under the control of his …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds
Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds Federal authorities have moved to seize 11 bank accounts, an investment account and a million-dollar Cresskill home bought by a Cliffside Park lawyer accused of scamming lenders out of $9M intended for small businesses crippled by COVID-19. Jae H. Choi, 48, got the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds from three lenders on behalf of non-existent businesses that he claimed provided educational services, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark alleges. Choi fabricated the existence of hundreds of employees, manipulated bank and tax records, and falsified a d…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Ex-Reality Star Uses $2 Million Business Pandemic Loan For Jewelry, Child Support Feds: Ex-Reality Star Uses $2 Million Business Pandemic Loan For Jewelry, Child Support
Feds: Ex-Reality Star Uses $2 Million Business Pandemic Loan For Jewelry, Child Support Former “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” star Maurice “Arkansas Mo” Fayne used a $2,045,800 coronavirus pandemic loan on jewelry for himself – including a 5.73-carat diamond ring – and child support, among other illegal purposes, said federal authorities who charged him with bank fraud. Federal agents who raided Fayne’s Georgia home this week said they seized roughly $80,000 in cash -- including $9,400 that they said he had in his pockets. The 37-year-old Fayne secured the loan in the name of a corporation that he called Flame Trucking to support 107 employees and an average monthly payroll of …

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by Jerry DeMarco