United States v. Eric Wade Lysne

Case summary

Eric Wade Lysne, 29, of Portland, Oregon, was charged in an unsealed indictment with one count each of wire fraud and bank fraud. An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. He pleaded not guilty and was released pending trial.¹

The indictment alleges that Lysne created fictitious entities, including Paradigm Consulting Groups, obtained an IRS Employer Identification Number for Paradigm in April 2020 and registered it with the Oregon Secretary of State the following month.¹

According to the indictment, in May 2020 Lysne applied for an EIDL, falsely claiming that Paradigm employed 10 people in agriculture and had gross revenues of nearly $1 million in the twelve months ending January 31, 2020. He also falsely claimed, the indictment says, that he had not been convicted of any felonies in the last five years. He had, in fact, spent most of that twelve-month period in prison on a Washington County felony conviction from May 2019. The SBA disbursed a $147,400 EIDL to Paradigm through Lysne's personal account in June 2020, followed by a $10,000 advance. The indictment alleges he spent the funds on personal expenses, including travel bookings and extensive cash withdrawals.¹

In April 2021, the indictment alleges, Lysne applied to the SBA to borrow an additional $302,600 on that EIDL; the application was still pending when he was indicted. He also applied to a bank in Logan, Utah, for a $50,000 PPP loan on Paradigm's behalf. He again falsely claimed that he had not been convicted of any recent felonies, and that Paradigm employed two people and had an average monthly payroll of $20,000. The bank partially approved it, disbursing $27,700.¹

Notes

1. U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, "Oregon Man Faces Federal Charges for COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme" (original). ↩₁ ↩₂ ↩₃ ↩₄

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