United States v. Eric Upchurch

Case summary

Throughout 2020 and 2021, Eric Upchurch, 36, of Madison, Wisconsin, submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for several businesses. They included Opportunity, Inc.; Economic Empowerment Wisconsin; One Red Feather; Madison Alliance for Black Economic Empowerment; Young, Gifted, and Black; and a sole proprietorship. Each application claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and tens of thousands in monthly payroll, backed by forged payroll reports and tax forms.¹

At trial, the evidence showed none of Upchurch's companies formally employed anyone but Upchurch himself, and none had the revenue to support the payroll figures he'd claimed. In total, he stole $406,211 and attempted to steal an additional $400,378. Some of what he did get, he laundered by buying $19,000 in Bitcoin.¹

A jury convicted Upchurch on June 13, 2024, of wire fraud, false statements to the SBA, and money laundering. U.S. District Judge William M. Conley sentenced him to 28 months in federal prison. The judge explained that Upchurch repeatedly lied on documents to obtain PPP funds, and noted that the program would have incurred additional loss had the lenders not stopped his applications.¹

Notes

1. U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, "Madison Man Sentenced to 28 Months for Stealing Paycheck Protection Program Funds" (original). ↩₁ ↩₂ ↩₃

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