FBI arrests two Jamaicans in US$14 million COVID fraud scheme
Published:Sunday | June 11, 2023 | 1:12 AMLester Hinds - Sunday Gleaner Writer
NEW YORK:
Two Jamaicans are among six people charged with defrauding the United States’ Small Business Administration Payroll Protection Program (PPP) of some US$14 million.
According to the complaint, unsealed last week in the Federal Court in White Plains, New York, Glenroy Walker, a Jamaican who resides in New Rochelle; and Jamaican Gary Wheeler, who resides in Mount Vernon, are charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud.
The other four facing charges are Donnat Powell, of Patterson, New Jersey; Howard Levy of the Bronx; Sherril Baez of Freeport, Long Island; and Norma Getten of the Bronx.
All six were taken into custody on Tuesday, June 7 and brought before the courts later that day.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
Walker and Levy are also charged with a single count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year sentence.
According to court documents, unsealed by the US Attorney Office for the Southern District of New York, headed by Jamaican Damian Williams, between July 2020 and February 2022, Walker and Levy operated a scheme to submit fraudulent applications for loans from the Small Business Administration Payroll Protection Program.
The Payroll Protection Program was created by Congress to provide billions of dollars in forgivable loans to struggling small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Payroll Protection Program was overseen by the Small Business Administration, which guaranteed the loans issued, in the first instance, by commercial lenders.
According to the courts, Walker and Levy submitted more than 100 fraudulent PPP loan applications to various financial institutions. Among other fraudulent misrepresentations, the PPP applications they submitted frequently contained phony bank statements and tax documents.
Baez, Getten, Powell and Wheeler reportedly participated in the fraud, which included submitting fraudulent applications for their own purported businesses and recruiting other prospective fraudulent PPP applicants into the scheme.
The court documents revealed that Walker and Levy received significant kickbacks from the applicants, including Baez, Getten, Powell and Wheeler, and shared portions of the earnings with recruiters.
The fraudulent applications submitted by the six defendants collectively sought more than $14.7 million in loans and resulted in the disbursement of more than $4.6 million from various financial institutions, all guaranteed by the SBA, the court documents revealed.
US Attorney Williams said: “As alleged, the defendants schemed to steal millions of dollars from a program Congress created to help struggling small businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, this Office will pursue and prosecute the fraudsters that took advantage of a global emergency to greedily line their own pockets.”
Michael J. Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said, “As alleged, the defendants conspired to fraudulently obtain more than $14 million from the Paycheck Protection Program through applications containing sham documents. This, unfortunately, is another example of individuals attempting to scam a program that was designed to help Americans during unprecedented upheaval. Ensuring that fraudsters who abused the Paycheck Protection Program are brought to justice remains a priority for the FBI.”
The prosecution is being handled by the US Attorney’s White Plains Division. Assistant US Attorneys Jared Hoffman and Derek Wikstrom are in charge of the prosecution.