An announcement from the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania states that Creed White, a 65-year-old resident of Freeland, Maryland, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction. Mr White owned and operated Aluminum Alloys MFG, LLC, an aluminium smelting and processing business in Yoe, York County, Pennsylvania.
As per the United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the defendant owned or controlled 18 additional sham corporate entities with no business operations or employees. The information alleges that White collaborated with several of his employees to file over 120 applications for pandemic stimulus funds on behalf of his non-operational businesses, including applications under the Payment Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Of the 120 applications filed, 42 were approved and funded, resulting in over $11.5 million being deposited into bank accounts controlled by White.
It has been reported that the applications filed by White and his co-conspirators contained several inaccuracies about the operation and management of non-operational businesses. The supporting documents submitted along with the PPP and EIDL applications were allegedly fraudulent and included false information about the number of employees, fabricated bank records and financial statements, forged IRS documents, and material misrepresentations regarding wages, taxes, gross receipts, and other expenses.
The U.S. Attorney Karam clarified: "Fraudulently obtaining over $11.5 million in federal pandemic relief funds that are meant to provide assistance to eligible small businesses will not be tolerated, as shown by today's charging of Defendant White. My Office will continue to diligently work with our law enforcement partners to pursue fraud against federal relief programs."
It is alleged that White and his partners in crime have fraudulently obtained over $11.5 million in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) by filing fraudulent applications. Furthermore, it is alleged that White misused the loan proceeds to make unauthorized expenditures for his business and personal benefit.
SBA OIG's Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge, Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, implied: "Individuals making false statements to fraudulently obtain pandemic funds for personal gain will face justice. Our Office will remain relentless in the pursuit of fraudsters who seek to exploit SBA's vital economic programs. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served."
Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, Yury Kruty, declared: "The charges announced today show IRS-CI's ongoing commitment to defend the integrity of the pandemic relief programs. IRS-CI, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate those who schemed to defraud these programs that were intended to help struggling individuals and businesses."
The Treasury Deputy Inspector General, Rich Delmar, pointed out: "Treasury OIG is working closely with its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute criminals who cheat and steal funds meant to help individuals and businesses harmed by the pandemic."
The CARES Act created the PPP and EIDL programs to aid small businesses during the pandemic. PPP funds are forgivable loans for payroll and expenses, while EIDL funds are low-interest-rate loans for fixed debts and obligations.
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