Beaumont engineer pleads guilty to $10M in PPP loan fraud
A Beaumont man pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraudulently filing $10 million worth of forgivable bank loan applications under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic (CARES) Act.
Shashank Rai, 30, was charged May 13, 2020 with violations of wire fraud, bank fraud, false statements to a financial institution and false statements to Small Business Administration (SBA), according to a written release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“The Payroll Protection Program was designed to help struggling businesses and hardworking Americans, not individuals who concoct imaginary businesses and employees,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei in the release. “We will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who exploit this critical, taxpayer-funded program.”
Rai admitted that he used two different bank accounts to pursuse millions of dollars in forgivable loans guaranteed by the SBA through the CARES Act and claimed he had 250 employees earning wages for his alleged business, Rai Family LLC. In the application submitted to the first lender, Rai sought $10 million from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan after claiming he had an average monthly payroll of $4 million.
Read more: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Beaumont-engineer-pleads-guilty-to-10M-in-PPP-15938094.php
