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Hamza Abbas

Defendant

PPP
Type
Person
Role
Defendant
Programs
PPP
Updated

The profile

One of six men sentenced for roles in a $20 million COVID-19 relief fraud ring led by Amir Aqeel — drew the longest sentence of the six, 44 months in federal prison.

Identity and role

Hamza Abbas was a co-defendant in the Southern District of Texas PPP fraud conspiracy led by Amir Aqeel, prosecuted alongside Ammas Uddin, Arham Uddin, Syed Ali, Muhammad Anis, Jesus Acosta Perez, Raheel Malik, Nishant Patel, and Harjeet Sing.

The scheme and pandemic-relief role

Prosecutors described the ring as fraudulently obtaining more than $20 million in PPP funds (DOJ USAO-SDTX, "Six Sentenced for Roles in $20M COVID-19 Relief Fraud Ring"). When Abbas was charged, in December 2021, prosecutors said the conspiracy had sought more than $35 million in PPP loans and obtained about $18 million (DOJ USAO-SDTX, "Four More Charged in $35M COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme"). Abbas was charged as a participant who assisted in filing or facilitating fraudulent loan applications.

  • Charged: conspiracy/fraud counts, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • Sentenced: 44 months in federal prison (Feb. 12, 2024), per DOJ and FDIC OIG.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

Not publicly documented.

  • Amir Aqeel
  • Abdul Fatani — named with Abbas in the superseding indictment in the same Southern District of Texas prosecution (No. 4:20-cr-00583); convicted at trial in February 2023.

Sources

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