California and New Hampshire Men Indicted for Attempting to Fraudulently Obtain $5 Million in CARES Act Funds

Summary

A press release dated June 30, 2022 and datelined Concord states that Pierre Rogers, 43, of Irvine, California, and Joshua Leavitt, 40, of Northwood, New Hampshire were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with multiple counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, and attempted wire fraud. Rogers was also charged with money laundering. The indictment alleges that the defendants applied for over two dozen PPP and EIDL loans for their companies using false documents, including fabricated tax documents, and applied for approximately $2 million in PPP loans and $3 million in EIDL funds. It alleges that a $175,000 PPP loan for Puro Group was obtained with fraudulent documents and that Rogers used $107,780 of those funds to purchase a luxury vehicle. The release states that the charges are only allegations.

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CONCORD –
Pierre Rogers, 43, of Irvine, California, and Joshua Leavitt, 40, of Northwood, New Hampshire were indicted by a federal grand jury on Monday and charged with multiple counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, and attempted wire fraud, United States Attorney Jane E. Young and William A. Kalb, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Northeast Field Division announced today.  Rogers was also charged with money laundering.
Leavitt was arrested this morning and was released on conditions pending trial.  Rogers’s appearance is being secured.
The indictment filed in court alleges that the defendants owned and operated at least seven companies, including Dark Matter Associates, Puro Trader (d/b/a Yayhn), Puro Group, and Puro Lounge.  During the early part of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  The CARES Act included multiple relief provisions to help the millions of Americans and many small businesses adversely affected by the pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  Private lenders could participate in the PPP program.  The loans, which were supposed to be used for payroll, were fully guaranteed by the government.  If borrowers used the PPP loans for payroll and other approved expenses as intended, they could apply for loan forgiveness.  The CARES Act also opened up the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.  As with PPP loans, EIDL loans were supposed to be used for payroll and other business expenses such as rent and mortgage.
In 2020 and 2021, Rogers and Leavitt applied for over two dozen PPP and EIDL loans for their companies.  They submitted false documents, including fabricated tax documents, which inflated their size and payroll.  Because PPP and EIDL loan size was tied to payroll and the number of employees a company had, the defendants were able to apply for and obtain larger loans.  In total, the defendants applied for approximately $2 million in PPP loans and $3 million in EIDL funds.
The defendants also misused at least some of the loan proceeds.  For example, Rogers and Leavitt obtained a $175,000 PPP loan for Puro Group using fraudulent documents.  As charged in the indictment, Rogers used $107,780 of those funds to purchase a luxury vehicle, a Rolls Royce Ghost.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations.  The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and Secret Service, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen.
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