Two men of Indian origin in the US have pleaded guilty to their participation in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme by obtaining loans under an economic assistance plan following the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the justice department said. ADVERTISEMENTThey admitted to submitting false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to SBA and certain SBA-approved PPP lenders. All five defendants also assisted in laundering the fraudulently obtained PPP loan funds by supplying co-conspirators with blank, endorsed checks, which were made payable to people posing as employees of the companies that received the PPP loan, but who were in fact not employees. The three others involved in the fraud obtained a total amount of more than USD 1.4 million, it added. In addition to these five defendants, one other individual was convicted at trial for his involvement in the scheme, and 15 other individuals have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the loan fraud scheme.

Source: The Telegraph October 04, 2023 11:15 UTC