Profiles · Fraud defendants
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Defendant
- Programs
- PPP, EIDL
- Updated
The profile
A defendant in a Puerto Rico PPP and EIDL ring, alias "El Doctor," who took two $20,800 PPP loans and a $104,000 EIDL loan, pleaded guilty to three wire-fraud counts and is appealing his sentence to the First Circuit.
Identity and role
Carlos Manfredo Pentzke Chamorro, whom the indictment gives the alias "El Doctor," was one of six defendants indicted on March 30, 2023, in United States v. Pentzke-Lemus, No. 3:23-cr-00130 (D.P.R.). The indictment says he received fraudulent PPP and EIDL loans. He was charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The scheme and pandemic-relief role
According to the indictment, organizer Manfred A. Pentzke Lemus recruited people to file PPP applications with a San Juan bank, "Bank 1," and EIDL applications with the SBA, supported by inflated 2019 income on tax forms; recruits paid kickbacks of about $5,000 per loan. The co-defendants' plea agreements put the ring's take at $5,915,290.33 from 223 PPP loans plus $3,105,300 in EIDL money.
His own counts, as set out in his plea agreement, are three wire transmissions: a $20,800 PPP loan on April 30, 2020, a second $20,800 PPP loan on February 9, 2021, and an EIDL loan and advance on June 16, 2020 that the indictment lists as $104,000 plus a $1,000 advance.
Legal status / controversies
- Indicted: March 30, 2023.
- Pleaded guilty: March 10, 2025, to Counts 18, 19 and 20 (wire fraud), under a plea and forfeiture agreement.
- Sentenced: October 1, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Aida M. Delgado-Colón, to 18 months in prison on each count, to run concurrently, three years of supervised release and $146,000 in restitution, according to the court's March 2026 order. The same order opens by calling it a "54-month sentence of imprisonment"; we do not have a copy of the judgment itself.
- Appeal: he filed a notice of appeal to the First Circuit on October 15, 2025. On March 4, 2026 the court denied release pending appeal, finding he "does not even attempt to establish that his appeal presents such a question" of law or fact as the statute requires.
Where they are now (2025–2026)
The March 2026 order denied his request for release while the appeal is pending. We found no ruling in the appeal.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney's Office, D.P.R., "Six Individuals Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Perpetrating Multimillion-Dollar Fraudulent Scheme" (Apr. 5, 2023) — original: https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/six-individuals-indicted-federal-grand-jury-perpetrating-multimillion-dollar-fraudulent
- Indictment, United States v. Pentzke-Lemus, No. 3:23-cr-00130 (D.P.R.), Doc. 3 (Mar. 30, 2023) — original: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.prd.176191/gov.uscourts.prd.176191.3.0.pdf
- Plea and forfeiture agreement of Carlos Manfredo Pentzke Chamorro, United States v. Pentzke-Lemus, No. 3:23-cr-00130 (D.P.R.), Doc. 339 (Mar. 10, 2025) — original: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.prd.176196/gov.uscourts.prd.176196.339.0.pdf
- Opinion and order denying bail pending appeal, United States v. Pentzke-Chamorro, No. 3:23-cr-00130 (D.P.R.), Doc. 500 (Mar. 4, 2026) — original: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.prd.176196/gov.uscourts.prd.176196.500.0.pdf
- U.S. Attorney's Office, D.P.R., "Orchestrator of Multi-Million Dollar COVID-19 Fraud Scheme Sentenced to 97 Months in Federal Prison" (Jan. 29, 2026) — original: https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/orchestrator-multi-million-dollar-covid-19-fraud-scheme-sentenced-97-months-federal
- Related profile: Ligia María Lemus De Pentzke
- Related profile: Manfred A. Pentzke Lemus