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Arthur Cornwall, age 43, of Babylon, and Sean Williams, age 42, of Valley Stream, were each sentenced to 18 months in prison in Central Islip federal court on Wednesday, March 20, after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Prosecutors said Cornwall, a former signal maintainer with the New York City Transit Authority, and Williams, a former New York State Court officer, received nearly $770,000 in small business loans between May and July 2020.
The loans, issued under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP), were meant to provide emergency financial assistance to businesses hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to investigators, Cornwall and Williams submitted fraudulent applications to the US Small Business Administration (SBA) for purported corporate entities they controlled.
Included with the applications were supporting documentation containing bogus information, including the name of the person applying, the number of employees, revenue, payroll costs, and the intended use of the loan funds.
Prosecutors said instead of using the money for disaster relief, the men blew it on personal expenses like real estate, credit card debt, and buying cryptocurrency.
“Abuse of public benefits programs, particularly shameful when those defrauding the government are public servants, will not be tolerated and not forgotten with the passage of time from the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.
Cornwall and Williams resigned from their government jobs following their guilty pleas. In addition to their prison time, they were ordered to pay $770,000 in restitution to the SBA.
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