Four people charged in $35m Covid relief fraud scheme

Suspects reportedly faked the number of employees and the payroll expenses of the applicant businesses

Four people have been charged by a grand jury in Houston, Texas in relation to a $35million Covid-19 relief fraud scheme, bringing the total to 15 suspects in the case.

According to the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, the defendants fraudulently obtained and laundered millions of dollars in forgivable loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law by former president Donald Trump in May 2020.

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that the four people charged were Hamza Abbas, 29, Khalid Abbas, 55, Abdul Fatani, 55, and Syed Ali, 53.

The US Attorney’s office said they “conspired with others to submit more than 80 false and fraudulent PPP loan applications”.

They reportedly faked the number of employees and the payroll expenses of the applicant businesses. They applied for more than $35m in loans and received around $18m, the charges say.

The indictment alleges that they laundered some of the money they received by writing checks to fake workers and that some of the defendants and their relatives received checks.

More than “1,100 fake paychecks totalling more than $3m in fraudulent PPP loan proceeds” were cashed at the Almeda Discount Store, the Justice Department said.

Those who have been previously charged in the case also were Amir Aqeel, 53, Pardeep Basra, 52, Rifat Bajwa, 53, Mayer Misak, 41, Mauricio Navia, 42, Richard Reuth, 58, and Siddiq Azeemuddin, 42.

Six of the defendants – Azeemuddin and Reuth, along with Abdul Farahshah, 70, Jesus Acosta Perez, 31, Bijan Rajabi, 68, and Raheel Malik, 41 – have pleaded guilty for their involvement.

One of the defendants, Mr Aqeel, is also facing allegations that he “submitted PPP loan applications by stealing the identities” of others.

The defendants face maximum penalties of “20 years in prison per count of wire fraud and 10 years for each money laundering conviction”.

Aggravated identity theft has a minimum sentence of two years on top of penalties for other crimes.

Since the CARES Act was signed into law, more than 150 defendants have been prosecuted in over 95 cases, with more than $75m in cash, real estate, and luxury items being seized.