Two men were sentenced yesterday for their participation in a COVID-19 fraud scheme, which involved fraudulent applications for $1.6 million in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Dumarsais Blaise Jr., 45, of Stonecrest, Georgia, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, while his brother, Alexander Blaise, 41, of Plantation, Florida, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
According to court documents, the brothers worked together to submit fraudulent PPP applications, with Dumarsais Blaise using his expertise as a tax preparer to create fake tax documents submitted in support of the applications.
The conspiracy involved fabricating information about three purported companies, two of which did not exist. For the third company, they falsely inflated the number of employees and payroll costs.
The FDIC-OIG and FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case, and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division leads the prosecution of fraud schemes exploiting the PPP.
Since the inception of the CARES Act, over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases have been prosecuted. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
Keep the convictions and sentences coming. And hopefully they can get some of the funds back. This money could have helped worthwhile businesses.