Sniders Jean-Jacques: Charged in PPP Conspiracy

In the archive

Identity and role

Sniders Jean-Jacques, 38, of Miami, is the first-named defendant in United States v. Sniders Jean-Jacques, Lorne Johnson, Tanya Pierre and Ashley Spike, No. 1:26-cr-10031-RGS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, before Judge Richard G. Stearns (indictment; DOJ release). The indictment says he and Johnson, of Boston, ran On the Go Tax Services ("OTG"), a tax-preparation business with offices in Massachusetts and Florida, and that Pierre worked as his assistant.

How the scheme worked, according to the indictment

The grand jury charges one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349) running from about March 2021 to about December 2022. For self-employed applicants, the indictment explains, the PPP loan amount was calculated from the gross income on the applicant's Schedule C, so the tax form did most of the work. The indictment alleges the defendants recruited borrowers "regardless of whether the borrowers had qualifying businesses" and registered businesses and obtained Employer Identification Numbers to make them look real. It alleges they opened tax-software accounts in the co-defendants' names and produced fake Schedule C forms with invented income (indictment).

The fee structure is spelled out in the overt acts. On March 3, 2021, according to the indictment, Jean-Jacques charged Borrower 1 $1,000 in cash at OTG's Boston office and filed an application claiming $123,005 of 2019 gross income. Borrower 1 then received two PPP loans of $20,833 each, in March and April 2021, and Jean-Jacques demanded another $12,000. On March 9, 2021 he told a recruiter by WhatsApp that the recruiter would get 10 percent of each loan and he would take 20 percent. Pierre, the indictment says, handed out a list of occupations with income and expense ranges to use on fake Schedule Cs; Spike taught the recruiter to fill out applications.

The Justice Department's release puts the total at "approximately $7 million in PPP funds" and says borrowers paid kickbacks "commonly in an amount equal to 30 percent of the loan proceeds" (DOJ release). The indictment itself says "millions of dollars" and names no lender. The government's discovery included more than 6,300 PPP loan and forgiveness files (case page).

Arrest, detention and a second indictment

The indictment was returned February 5, 2026. Jean-Jacques was arrested in Miami and appeared before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of Florida, who held a detention hearing on February 13, 2026 (hearing transcript). On April 20, 2026 the Massachusetts court allowed the government's motion to reverse the magistrate's release order and ordered him detained pending trial (case page).

He and Pierre were also charged in a separate indictment, No. 1:26-cr-10030, with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud over mortgage loans and apartment leases (DOJ release; arrest warrant).

Legal status

Each wire-fraud conspiracy count carries up to 20 years in prison. Co-defendant Tanya Pierre pleaded guilty to the PPP count on August 19, 2026, under a plea agreement filed July 29, and is set for sentencing on November 19, 2026 (docket report). No plea by Jean-Jacques appears on the docket through September 19, 2026; the charges against him are allegations.

Since 2025

Detained pending trial since April 2026. A further final status conference in the PPP case was set for October 1, 2026 (docket report).

Sniders Jean-Jacques