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Darrell Thomas

Executive

PPP · EIDL
Type
Person
Role
Executive
Programs
PPP, EIDL
Updated

The profile

Johns Creek, Georgia man whom federal prosecutors called the mastermind of an Atlanta scheme that obtained 14 fraudulent PPP loans totaling about $11.1 million; he pleaded guilty in June 2021 and was sentenced in May 2022 to fifteen years and $13.2 million in restitution.

Identity and role

Darrell Thomas, of Johns Creek, Georgia, was 36 at his May 2022 sentencing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. He is defendant 1 in United States v. Thomas et al. (N.D. Ga.), first indicted on August 4, 2020 with four others. By May 2022, DOJ said, 23 people had been charged in connection with the scheme. In January 2025 the court noted that his sentence carried an upward adjustment under Sentencing Guidelines § 3B1.1(a) "for his central role in the crime."

Biography / career arc

The DOJ releases and court filings on this site describe no business of his outside the scheme. His plea covered more than the PPP: he admitted fraudulent conduct totaling more than $14.7 million, including about $11.1 million in PPP loans, more than $1.15 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans and more than $2.4 million in fraudulent automobile loans.

The case / pandemic-relief role

From April through August 2020, according to the second superseding indictment and information presented in court, Thomas orchestrated at least 14 fraudulent PPP loans, one per business, each between $700,000 and $850,000. The applications claimed 59 to 69 employees and about $295,000 to $342,000 in average monthly payroll, supported by IRS Forms 941 for each quarter of 2019 and bank statements or payroll spreadsheets. None of the businesses had employees or payroll; the forms, bank statements and W-2 spreadsheets were fabricated, and some businesses submitted identical Forms 941 and identical bank statements. A co-conspirator sentenced in February 2025 had helped obtain $830,417 for one of the businesses, Transportation Management Services Inc.

Their own relief

After the loans funded, the businesses moved more than $5.5 million of the proceeds into accounts Thomas controlled, labeled as rent and payroll, DOJ says. The government seized more than $4 million in PPP proceeds, four luxury vehicles and jewelry. He agreed to forfeit more than $2.1 million in seized funds, a 2018 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG, a 2018 Land Rover Range Rover, a 2017 Acura NSX and several items of jewelry including a gold Rolex.

  • Indicted: August 4, 2020, with four co-defendants; later superseding indictments added more.
  • Pleaded guilty: June 16, 2021, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and to money laundering.
  • Sentenced: by U.S. District Judge J. P. Boulee to 180 months (fifteen years) in prison, five years of supervised release and $13,206,752.10 in restitution; the judgment was entered May 18, 2022 and amended May 23, 2022. A final order of forfeiture followed on March 28, 2023.
  • Sentence reduction denied: on April 15, 2024 he asked, without a lawyer, for a reduction under Guidelines Amendment 821; the court denied it on January 2, 2025 because of the role adjustment.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

On December 10, 2025, the government moved to substitute restitution payees on his judgment. That is the latest filing in his case on this site.

Sources held in this archive

Case filings on this site

Sources

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