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Sieff Robert Sargeant

Executive

PPP
Type
Person
Role
Executive
Programs
PPP
Updated

The profile

One of five people charged by complaint on July 19, 2023, in a multi-state COVID-19 relief program bank-fraud conspiracy in New Jersey, accused of signing PPP applications and participating in loan-forgiveness paperwork fraud. He pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering in May 2024 and was sentenced that October to six months in prison and six months of home detention. In September 2025, an immigration court ordered his removal to the United Kingdom on the strength of the conviction.

Individuals whose conduct was challenged or called into question during or after the pandemic. See sources: Plea agreement, May 23, 2024 Judgment, Oct. 3, 2024

In the archive

Identity and role

Sieff Robert Sargeant was a co-defendant in a bank-fraud conspiracy prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alongside Eric Rivera, Lisa Smith, Adrienne Ponzo, James Wessels, Yasha Barjona, and William Ingram.

The scheme and pandemic-relief role

According to the FDIC Office of Inspector General's July 2023 charging release , Sargeant signed PPP applications and participated in a loan-forgiveness paperwork scheme as part of a multi-state COVID-19 relief program fraud conspiracy. The 2024 DOJ releases identified the lender only as "a national financial institution"; the January 2026 KeyBank False Claims Act settlement release and agreement identify the branch that processed the scheme's loans as KeyBank's Conshohocken, Pennsylvania branch, managed by Tommy Hawkins.

  • Charged: July 19, 2023, by complaint, on conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (FDIC OIG release, DOJ releases).
  • Pleaded guilty: May 23, 2024, to a one-count information charging money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden. The docket minute entry (Dkt. 25) dates the plea hearing May 23, 2024; the May 30, 2024 DOJ release announced it a week later. Per the release, his business received a PPP loan in April 2021 on a fraudulent application, and he laundered the proceeds through fake payroll checks that a friend cashed and returned to him; the judgment dates the offense to July through September 2021.
  • Forfeiture: consent judgment and order of forfeiture entered with the plea (Dkt. 28, May 23, 2024; our copy is image-only, so the money-judgment amount is cited to the docket).
  • Sentenced: Oct. 2, 2024, to six months in prison and six months of home detention (DOJ Oct. 21, 2024 release, judgment Dkt. 35, image-only). The judgment was signed Oct. 3, 2024, the date the KeyBank settlement release uses.
  • Ordered removed: Sept. 10, 2025. The Chelmsford Immigration Court's amended order (Dkt. 38-1) found him removable and ordered removal to the United Kingdom; both sides waived appeal.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

Facing removal under the Sept. 10, 2025 amended immigration order (Dkt. 38-1). On Sept. 22, 2025 Judge Williams released his bond obligation and ordered his passport returned (Dkt. 39).

Court records

Sources

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