Reports

The last of three defendants made his initial appearance in Miami federal court yesterday to face an indictment charging the men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud while scheming to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

Tyree Jones, 33, filed fraudulent applications for himself and also offered to help others obtain PPP and EIDL funds in exchange for “kickbacks” from any funds they received.

Baltimore , Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced David Epstein, 46, of Owings Mills, Maryland, to one year and one day in federal prison and 12 months of home incarceration. The sentence is in connection with his previous guilty plea to one count of wire fraud for submitting fraudulent CARES Act loan applications.

The owner of Theophin Consulting LLC has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining Covid-19 relief loan proceeds under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) program.

SAN DIEGO – Restaurateur Leronce Suel was sentenced in federal court today to 42 months in prison for submitting more than $1.7 million in fraudulent applications for COVID relief programs and failing to report the income to the IRS.

A San Diego restaurant owner was sentenced to 42 months in prison for schemes to defraud COVID-19 relief programs and filing false tax returns.

A federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging a Kansas woman with tax evasion and wire fraud.

Greenbelt , Maryland – U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Michael Cooley, Jr., aka “Micheal Cooley Jr.,” “5Micmusik,” and “Michael White,” age 26, of Prince George’s County, Maryland, to 87 months in federal prison. In January 2025, Cooley pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD).