Indian National Charged in $8 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme Indian National Charged in $8 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 A
federal grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, returned an indictment today
charging an Indian national for fraudulently obtaining millions of
dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the
Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to court documents, Abhishek Krishnan, 40, previously
resided in Wake County, North Carolina, before returning to his home
country of India. After returning to India, Krishnan allegedly submitted
numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications to federally insured banks,
including on behalf of purported companies that were not registered
business entities. The fraudulent PPP loan applications allegedly
included false statements about the companies’ employees and payroll
expenses, as well as falsified tax filings. As part of the fraud scheme,
Krishnan allegedly used the name of another person without that
person’s authority. Krishnan allegedly submitted at least 17 PPP loan
applications seeking over $8.2 million and received more than $3.3
million in loan proceeds. Following receipt of the funds, Krishnan
allegedly laundered the proceeds of the fraud.
Krishnan is charged with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of
money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identify theft. If
convicted, Krishnan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on
each of the top counts and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison on
each count of aggravated identify theft. A federal district court judge
will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for
the District of New Jersey; Special Agent in Charge Mark Morini of the
U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA),
Southeast Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General
(FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region; U.S. Marshal Michael East for the Eastern
District of North Carolina; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka
McCall-Brathwaite of the Small Business Administration Office of
Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region made the announcement.
The TIGTA, FDIC-OIG, U.S. Marshals Service, and SBA-OIG are investigating the case.
Assistant Chief Justin Woodard and Trial Attorney Thomas D. Campbell
of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney
Katherine M. Romano for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the
case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan B. Menzer for
the Eastern District of North Carolina.
In a separate case, Krishnan was recently charged
in the Eastern District of North Carolina with theft of government
property and aggravated identity theft regarding his alleged receipt of
unemployment insurance benefits funded by the federal government in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud
schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the
Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95
criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived
from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate
properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More
information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud
Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of
Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance
efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force
bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic
and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with
administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and
incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources
and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and
sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior
enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response
to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud
involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s
National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web
Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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