In a recent development, two siblings have confessed to their involvement in a deceptive scheme aimed at securing fraudulent loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), totaling approximately $7.6 million.
These loans, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, became the center of a legal case resulting in guilty pleas.
The individuals in question, Larry Jordan, aged 45, hailing from Lancaster, New York, and Sutukh El, also known as Curtis Jordan, Hugo Hurt, Hugo Hermes Hurtington, aged 41, from Buffalo, New York, jointly conspired to submit eight deceptive PPP loan applications on behalf of companies they either owned or controlled.
Their actions took place between April and September 2020. Of these applications, three were directed to Evolve Bank & Trust, while the remaining five were submitted to Lendio, a financial technology firm based in Utah.
These applications contained false information regarding the payroll expenses of the respective companies for the year 2019, which the SBA used to determine the amount of PPP funds each applicant company would receive.
To support their deceptive applications, Jordan and El included IRS forms that they had never actually filed with the IRS. Furthermore, they attached fraudulent payroll records claiming to identify employee names, personal details, and salaries, all linked to the PPP applications.
Subsequently, the disbursed funds were deposited into an account controlled by El, and the brothers diverted these funds for their personal investments, covering personal expenses, and making home improvements.
Both Jordan and El pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and a fine of $1 million.
Additionally, Jordan pleaded guilty to bank fraud, which also has a maximum prison sentence of 30 years, and engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The sentencing for these guilty pleas is scheduled for January 17, 2024.
In another news, a 65-year-old man is facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life incarcerated after confessing to the brutal killing of his wife. He bludgeoned her with a nail gun in their own home. See detailed story here
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