A Novi man was arrested for wire fraud involving the PPP program. | stock photo
A Novi man was arrested for wire fraud involving the PPP program. | stock photo
A Novi man was arrested Sept. 1 for his alleged involvement in a wire fraud scheme that involved $3.1 million in loans through the federal COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Antonio George, 44, was charged with one count of wire fraud when a criminal complaint was unsealed Sept. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, according to The United States Department of Justice.
“The complaint alleges that George was the nexus in an attempt to obtain approximately $3.1 million in PPP loans through applications to insured financial institutions, and others, on behalf of 19 different companies,” said The U.S. Department of Justice. “The complaint alleges that George provided false and misleading documents about certain of the companies’ respective business operations and payroll expenses."
“As an example of such false documentation, the complaint alleges that George submitted identical wage information and employee count records for two separate companies. One of those companies has allegedly not been operational since 2015," the U.S. Department of Justice stated.
The criminal complaint is available at United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The PPP is a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, according to the website of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The SBA ended accepting program applications from lenders on Aug. 8, according to its website.
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