Texas Man Gets More Than 9 Years in PPP Loan Fraud Scheme


ppp loan fraud scheme

According to court documents, Lee Price III, 30, of Houston, Texas is the latest man to get sentenced in a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud case. And with hundreds of criminals under indictment by the Department of Justice (DOJ), he won’t be the last.

Texas Man Sentenced to 9 Years in PPP Loan Fraud Scheme

According to the DOJ, Price was given a 110-month sentence in a scheme designed to get and launder proceeds by defrauding the PPP. Price pleaded guilty in September to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Even though Price fell short of his initial $2.6 million goal, he nevertheless managed to get $1.6 million in PPP loan funds.

This was achieved by submitting PPP loan applications to two different lenders on behalf of three companies. Using 713 Construction LLC, Price Enterprises Holdings LLC, and Price Logistic Services LLC, Price applied for more than $2.6 million. However, he ended up with $1.6 million by falsifying the number of employees, payroll expenses, fraudulent tax records, and other materials in each of the PPP loan applications.

Spending the Loot

When it came to spending the loot, Price didn’t hold back. The DOJ says he had many purchases, including a Lamborghini Urus, a Ford F-350 truck, a Rolex watch, and paying off a loan on a residential property.

The DOJ and other law enforcement partners managed to seize over $700,000 of the funds Price fraudulently obtained. The case was investigated by the FHFA-OIG, SBA-OIG, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Fraud Section, which leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP has to date prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases. It has also seized more than $75 million in cash as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items.

For those who have committed these crimes, it is only a matter of time before the hammer falls and they start doing time in federal prisons. In the words of Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicolas McQuaid:

“TO ANYONE THINKING OF USING THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCAM AND STEAL FROM HARDWORKING AMERICANS, MY ADVICE IS SIMPLE. DON’T. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE OR WHERE YOU ARE, WE WILL FIND YOU AND PROSECUTE YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.”

image: justice.gov

More Cases on the Way

Take a look at the court documents (cases publicly charged up to August 6, 2021). This is not the complete list, as the DOJ is still working many other cases.

Please note the court documents below have all been unsealed.

District of Arizona

Central District of California

Northern District of California

  • U.S. v. Lebnitz Tran
    • Superseding Indictment

District of Colorado

District of Columbia

Southern District of Florida

Northern District of Georgia

District of Hawaii

Northern District of Illinois

Middle District of Louisiana

District of Massachusetts

Eastern District of Michigan

District of Minnesota

District of Montana

District of Nevada

District of New Jersey

Western District of New York

Eastern District of North Carolina

Middle District of North Carolina

Western District of North Carolina

Northern District of Ohio

Northern District of Oklahoma

District of South Carolina

Eastern District of Texas

Northern District of Texas

Southern District of Texas

Western District of Washington

Eastern District of Wisconsin


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Michael Guta Michael Guta is the Assistant Editor at Small Business Trends and has been with the team for 9 years. He currently manages its East African editorial team. Michael brings with him many years of content experience in the digital ecosystem covering a wide range of industries. He holds a B.S. in Information Communication Technology, with an emphasis in Technology Management.