Profiles · Fraud defendants
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Defendant
- Programs
- PPP
- Updated
The profile
A Miramar, Florida man who got a $488,565 PPP loan for his company and was sentenced in July 2021 to 33 months in prison. He steered friends to the same preparer for another $6.77 million in applications and was ordered to pay $2,975,086 in restitution.
Identity and role
Andre M. Clark, 46 when charged, of Miramar, Florida, was charged by criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida on August 3, 2020, one of nine people in a PPP scheme the Justice Department put at more than $24 million in applications. His case became United States v. Clark, No. 0:21-cr-60029 (S.D. Fla.), when a one-count information was filed on January 25, 2021. Others charged in the scheme included James Stote, who prepared the applications, Keyaira Bostic and Tonye Johnson.
The scheme and pandemic-relief role
The Justice Department says Clark obtained a PPP loan of $488,565 for his company, Top Choice LLC, on falsified information and documents that Stote submitted for him. He also admitted recruiting friends and associates and referring them to Stote for more fraudulent applications, sometimes in exchange for kickbacks. Those referrals sought $6,774,999. With his own loan, that makes the $7,263,564 the department says he sought in all.
Legal status / controversies
- Charged: criminal complaint, August 3, 2020 (wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy); released on a $200,000 bond; information filed January 25, 2021.
- Pleaded guilty: May 14, 2021, before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
- Sentenced: July 30, 2021, to 33 months in prison, three years of supervised release and $2,975,086 in restitution, and taken into custody at the hearing (judgment entered August 2, 2021). A preliminary forfeiture order was entered in July 2021 and amended in April 2022.
Where they are now (2025–2026)
We found no public record of him after the amended forfeiture order of April 2022.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney's Office, S.D. Fla., "Man Sentenced for COVID-19 Relief Fraud" (Aug. 3, 2021) — original: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/man-sentenced-covid-19-relief-fraud
- U.S. Department of Justice, "Man Sentenced for COVID-19 Relief Fraud" (July 30, 2021) — original: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/man-sentenced-covid-19-relief-fraud
- U.S. Department of Justice, "Nine Charged with $24 Million COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme" (Aug. 6, 2020) — original: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/nine-charged-24-million-covid-relief-fraud-scheme
- Docket, United States v. Clark, No. 0:21-cr-60029 (S.D. Fla.) — original: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61180747/united-states-v-clark/
- Related profile: James Stote
- Related profile: Tonye Johnson
- Related profile: Keyaira Bostic