United States v. Ernest Bernard Gonder, Jr. — S.D. Fla., No. 0:24-cr-60003

Case summary

Ernest Bernard Gonder, Jr. was charged by an information filed January 5, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 0:24-cr-60003-KMW, with wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 in counts 1 and 2. He waived indictment and consented to prosecution by information, and the court minutes for his initial appearance on January 30, 2024 record the violation as wire fraud and a bond. The government's proposed order of forfeiture states that the court accepted his guilty plea to counts 1 and 2 on March 7, 2024, that from April 2021 to July 2021 he submitted false and fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans through the Small Business Administration and applications for forgiveness of them, and that the loans were paid and forgiven, resulting in an actual loss to the government of $168,248.41.

Case at a glance

What did the information charge?

Wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, in counts 1 and 2, with forfeiture allegations. The court minutes for the initial appearance on January 30, 2024 record the violation as wire fraud and the proceeding as an initial appearance on the information, and a waiver of indictment signed the same day records that the defendant was advised in open court of his rights and the nature of the proposed charges and waived prosecution by indictment.

What conduct does the forfeiture filing describe?

The government's proposed preliminary order of forfeiture states that from April 2021 to July 2021 the defendant submitted false and fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans through the Small Business Administration and applications for forgiveness of those loans; that the applications contained false and fraudulent information as to the borrower's average monthly payroll and number of employees; and that both loans were ultimately paid and forgiven, resulting in the government suffering an actual loss of $168,248.41.

How was the forfeiture resolved?

The plea agreement, as quoted in the government's proposed order, records an agreement to a forfeiture money judgment of $168,248.41 and to forfeiture of substitute property under 21 U.S.C. § 853(p). The government's proposed final order of forfeiture states that the court entered a preliminary order on March 20, 2024 forfeiting a parcel of real property subject to third-party interests, that on February 10, 2026 the court approved a stipulation and settlement agreement under which the defendant would remit $168,248.41 in lieu of forfeiture of that property, and that the payment was made on or about May 19, 2026 with no third-party petition filed.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.