Criminal Information — U.S. v. Halfkenny

Record facts

U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts · No. 1:26-cr-10107-NMG · Doc. 1 · 2026-04-10 · Docket on CourtListener

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
v. 
DAMIAN HALFKENNY, 
 Defendant 
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Criminal No. 26cr10107
Violation: 
Count One: Wire Fraud 
(18 U.S.C. § 1343) 
Forfeiture Allegation: 
(18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 
28 U.S.C. § 2461) 
INFORMATION 
  At all times relevant to this Information: 
General Allegations 
1.
Defendant DAMIAN HALFKENNY was a resident of Boston, Massachusetts.
2.
HALFKENNY was employed full-time as a Sergeant with the Massachusetts
State Police. 
HALFKENNY’s Rental Properties and Tax Returns 
3.
HALFKENNY owned several properties in Boston.
4.
HALFKENNY reported his 2019 income to the Internal Revenue Service using
the federal Form 1040. 
5.
Among various schedules that a taxpayer may submit with their Form 1040 are a
Schedule C and a Schedule E. Schedule C is used to report profit or loss from a business that the 
taxpayer operates as a sole proprietor. Schedule E is used to report income or loss from, among 
other things, rental real estate. 
6.
HALFKENNY did not file a Schedule C for 2019.
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7. 
HALFKENNY filed a Schedule E for 2019, reporting that he had rented out 
multiple properties that year. HALFKENNY did not report any payroll expenses. 
8. 
On his 2019 Schedule E, HALFKENNY reported that he had incurred a loss of 
$8,714, i.e., his rents received minus expenses equaled -$8,714. 
The Paycheck Protection Program 
9. 
The United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) was an agency of the 
executive branch of the United States government. The mission of the SBA was to maintain and 
strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses 
and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters. As part of this effort, 
the SBA enabled and provided for loans, guaranteed by the government, through banks, credit 
unions, and other lenders.  
10. 
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a 
federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans 
suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act also provided 
funding for forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses 
through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP offered forgivable loans to small 
businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan proceeds could be used for payroll 
and certain other business expenses.   
11. 
In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business was required to submit a loan 
application signed by an authorized representative of the business acknowledging the program 
rules and making certain affirmative certifications, including certifications about the business’s 
average monthly payroll expense and the purpose of the loan. If the applicant was a sole 
proprietor, they were required to submit an IRS Schedule C in support of their application. 
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12. 
PPP loan applications were processed by participating lenders. The lender funded 
the PPP loan using its own money, but the loan was guaranteed by the SBA. Data from the 
application, including information about the business’s average monthly payroll expense, was 
transmitted by the lender to the SBA in the course of processing the loan. 
13. 
Because the PPP was an emergency program designed to provide funds to small 
businesses as quickly as possible, participating lenders and the SBA were allowed to rely on 
applicants’ certifications without verifying the accuracy of information the applicants 
represented to be true. 
14. 
After obtaining the loan proceeds, the borrower could apply for forgiveness of the 
loan if they met certain requirements, including that they had spent at least 60% of their loan 
proceeds on payroll expenses.  
15. 
If the loan was forgiven, the SBA repaid the lender the full amount of the loan 
plus any accrued interest. Forgiven loans were paid for with taxpayer money. 
HALFKENNY’s Scheme to Defraud the SBA 
16. 
HALFKENNY was a customer of a bank in Boston that participated in the PPP 
(the “Bank”). 
17. 
On or about March 2, 2021, HALFKENNY used his Yahoo email account to send 
an email to ppp@[name of the Bank].com attaching a signed application for a $21,220 PPP loan. 
In the application HALFKENNY represented that he was the sole proprietor of a residential real 
estate rental business with one employee. He falsely represented that his average monthly payroll 
expense was $8,488. His application stated that one of the purposes of the loan was to cover the 
business’s payroll costs. HALFKENNY certified that “the information provided in this 
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application and the information provided in all supporting documents and forms is true and 
accurate in all material respects.” 
18. 
On or about March 2, 2021, the President of the Bank (the “Bank President”) sent 
a reply email stating, “Can you please send me a Schedule C tax return to help me validate the 
monthly payroll/income.” 
19. 
On or about March 3, 2021, HALFKENNY emailed the Bank President a 
fabricated Schedule C for tax year 2019. The Schedule C represented that in 2019 
HALFKENNY had been the proprietor of a rental real estate business which had received 
$139,754 in rental income and incurred $37,898 in expenses, yielding a net profit of $101,856. In 
fact, as noted above, HALFKENNY’s rentals yielded a net loss of ($8,714). This email traveled 
through a server in New York. 
20. 
The Bank asked the SBA to guarantee HALFKENNY’s loan if he later applied 
for, and was granted, loan forgiveness. In support of its request, the Bank provided the SBA with 
information stated on HALFKENNY’s application and his fabricated Schedule C.  
21. 
The SBA agreed to guarantee the loan. HALFKENNY’s certification and other 
information relayed to the SBA by the Bank, including the false payroll information on 
HALFKENNY’s application and his fabricated Schedule C, were material to the SBA’s decision. 
22. 
On or about March 6, 2021, HALFKENNY opened a new checking account at the 
Bank, account no. -2148. On or about March 8, 2021, the Bank deposited $21,220 in PPP loan 
proceeds into the account. This was the first deposit into account no. -2148. 
23. 
HALFKENNY spent the loan proceeds in less than two months. Between on or 
about March 8, 2021, and on or about May 3, 2021, HALFKENNY paid himself two $7,000 
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checks; he withdrew $5,000 in cash; and he paid $2,118.28 in mortgage interest on one of his 
rental properties. 
24. 
On or about September 13, 2021, HALFKENNY emailed the Bank President a 
signed PPP forgiveness application. HALFKENNY falsely represented on the application that he 
had spent the entire loan amount on payroll costs. HALFKENNY certified that “the information 
provided in this application is true and correct in all material respects.” 
25. 
The Bank reported the information on HALFKENNY’s forgiveness application to 
the SBA.  
26. 
On or about September 16, 2021, the SBA granted HALFKENNY’s forgiveness 
application. The information and certifications on HALFKENNY’s loan application and 
forgiveness application, as well as his fabricated Schedule C, were material to the SBA’s 
decision.  
27. 
On or about September 16, 2021, the SBA repaid the Bank the full principal 
amount on HALFKENNY’s loan plus $112.79 in accrued interest, totaling $21,332.79. 
28. 
HALFKENNY did not repay any portion of his PPP loan.  
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COUNT ONE 
Wire Fraud 
(18 U.S.C. § 1343) 
 
The United States Attorney charges: 
 
29. 
The United States Attorney re-alleges and incorporates by reference paragraphs 1-
28 of this Information.     
30. 
On or about March 3, 2021, in the District of Massachusetts, and elsewhere, the 
defendant, 
DAMIAN HALFKENNY, 
 
having devised and intending to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and for obtaining money 
and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, 
did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire communications in interstate and foreign 
commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds for the purpose of executing the scheme 
to defraud: Email from DAMIAN HALFKENNY in Massachusetts to the Bank President in 
Massachusetts, traveling through a server located in New York, attaching a fabricated Schedule C 
in support of HALFKENNY’s PPP loan application. 
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. 
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FORFEITURE ALLEGATION 
(18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c)) 
 
The United States Attorney further alleges: 
 
 
1. 
Upon conviction the offense in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 
1343, set forth in Count One, the defendant, 
DAMIAN HALFKENNY, 
 
shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), 
and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), any property, real or personal, which 
constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offense. The property to be forfeited 
includes, but is not limited to, the following asset: 
a. $21,332.79, to be entered in the form of a forfeiture money judgment;  
 
2. 
If any of the property described in Paragraph 1, above, as being forfeitable 
pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), and Title 28, United States Code, 
Section 2461(c), as a result of any act or omission of the defendant -- 
a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; 
 
b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; 
 
c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court; 
 
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or 
 
e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without 
difficulty; 
 
it is the intention of the United States, pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), 
incorporating Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), to seek forfeiture of any other 
property of the defendant up to the value of the property described in Paragraph 1 above.  
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