Reports

An indictment was unsealed yesterday in the Northern District of Texas charging two co-founders of Blueacorn, a lender service provider, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A former Blue Springs, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today for her role in a conspiracy that resulted in more than $220,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Jason Toland, 44, of Wheatland, was sentenced today to two years and 11 months in prison for submitting false claims against the United States related to COVID-19 pandemic tax credits. Toland was also ordered to pay $2,078,462 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and the Small Business Administration.

YASIR G. HAMED, 59, of Woodbridge, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with offenses stemming from an alleged scheme to defraud a COVID-19 pandemic relief program of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2024 for fraud and false statements charges in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

SAN DIEGO – After an eight-day trial, a federal jury has convicted Denny Thakorbhai Bhakta on all 25 counts of securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in connection with a $35 million dollar investment fraud scheme and COVID-relief fraud scheme.

PROVIDENCE, RI – United States Attorney Zachry A. Cunha announced today that a Rhode Island mortgage broker who purported to match borrowers seeking short-term loans with private lenders seeking high rates of return admitted to a federal judge that he misappropriated more than $1.5 million dollars of investors’ funds by using the money to repay earlier investors, support his own international investment opportunities, and to cover personal expenses.

Baltimore, Maryland – On October 23, 2024, Tomeka Glenn, a/k/a “Tomeka Harris” and “Tomeka Davis,” age 47, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard D. Bennett to 65 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release in connection with her conviction on conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to the submission of millions of dollars in fraudulent COVID-19 CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications. Judge Bennett also directed Glenn to pay restitution in the amount of $3,016,275.62.