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CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man is charged with wire fraud as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Covid relief loan.

Nikia A. French recruited people on Instagram who were willing to let French use their bank accounts for a bad check scheme.

NASHVILLE – John Paul Dillon, 40, of Franklin, Tennessee pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to fraud in connection with COVID-19 relief programs, mortgage fraud, and money

Naquan Powers admitted involvement in the fraudulent purchase of vehicles, a credit card scam and fraud involving two pandemic relief programs.

BOSTON – An Acton was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for conspiring to use stolen identities to fraudulently obtain disaster loan funds from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and to launder the funds.

SAN DIEGO – Denny Bhakta of San Diego was arraigned in federal court today on additional charges that he fraudulently obtained $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans through several entities he managed and controlled. Bhakta was first indicted in December 2021 for defrauding investors in his companies; a grand jury returned a superseding indictment this week that includes additional charges.

PEORIA, Ill. – A Saint Augustine, Illinois man, Michael Lewis Patch, 66, of the 100 block of West Third Street, has been sentenced to 90 days in the Bureau of Prisons, five years of Supervised Release, and to pay more than $64,000 in restitution.

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging David Epstein, age 45, of Owings Mills, Maryland, for wire fraud and money laundering, relating to the submission of fraudulent COVID-19 CARES Act loan applications. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment was filed on June 24, 2023, and unsealed today at Epstein’s initial appearance.

A federal jury in the Southern District of Ohio today convicted Kelli Prather, 51, of Cincinnati of crimes pertaining to her request for more than $1.2 million in pandemic relief loans. She was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals after the jury returned its guilty verdicts.

Charles Carbon III fraudulently received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, a Paycheck Protection Program loan and unemployment benefits.