Eight Arrested in Multi-Million Dollar Pandemic Relief Fraud Scheme (Press Release, June 1, 2023)

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, dated Thursday, June 1, 2023, announcing that eight residents of Michigan and California were charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Those charged include Deangelo Jackson-Portwood, Anton Greenwood, Adartha Tillman, Timothy Boyle, Tyrone Boyle, Christopher Lindsay, Taurean Davis and Maurice Brown-Portwood. According to the indictment, the defendants caused fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, PPP loan applications and EIDL applications to be submitted, many in the names of identity theft victims. According to court records, the defendants received over $6 million in fraudulently obtained funds.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

PRESS RELEASE



Eight Arrested in Multi-Million
Dollar Pandemic Relief Fraud
Scheme
Thursday, June 1, 2023


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan

DETROIT - Eight residents of Michigan and California were charged for their alleged
roles in a $6 million fraud scheme targeting multiple pandemic relief programs,
announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Joining in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation Detroit Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Irene Lidlow
of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General
and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brady Ipock of the Central Region of the U.S. Small
Business Administration Office of the Inspector General.

Deangelo Jackson-Portwood, 40, of Livonia; Anton Greenwood, 37, of Detroit; Adartha
Tillman, 39, of Eastpointe; Timothy Boyle, 55, of Los Angeles County, California; Tyrone
Boyle, 55, of Los Angeles County, California; Christopher Lindsay, 36, of Detroit; Taurean
Davis, 41, of Detroit; and Maurice Brown-Portwood, 33, of Van Buren Township, were
charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity
theft.

According to the indictment, the defendants caused fraudulent unemployment
insurance claims, fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, and
fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications to be submitted for numerous
individuals and business entities. Those applications are alleged to have misrepresented
applicant information, including the identity of the applicant and eligibility for relief.
Many of the applications were submitted in the names of identity theft victims.
According to court records, the defendants received over $6 million in fraudulently
obtained funds as a result of the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Ison stated: “Today’s indictment alleges a massive scheme to defraud
taxpayers across a number of pandemic relief programs. The conduct as alleged is
brazen and targeted programs designed to help our nation through an unprecedented
public health crisis. My Office is fully committed to prosecuting all of those who lined
their pockets at the expense of the public.”

"An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate
allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to
work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of
allegations," said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S.
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

"The defendants arrested today include the leaders of this criminal conspiracy that
targeted relief programs during the pandemic," said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in
Charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners will
continue this investigation until those who participated in this scheme are brought to
justice."

“Providing false information to fraudulently gain access to pandemic relief funds is a
theft of taxpayer funds,” said SBA OIG’s Central Region Acting Special Agent in Charge
Brady Ipock. “OIG remains committed to rooting out bad actors and protecting the
integrity of SBA programs. I want to thank the Department of Justice and our law
enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The defendants face up to twenty years in prison based on the wire fraud conspiracy
charge and a consecutive two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Small Business
Administration, and the Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John K. Neal and
Alyse Wu

Updated June 1, 2023

Topic
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - Michigan, Eastern


File and source

File

2023-06-02-Eight-Arrested-in-Multi-Million-Dollar-Pandemic-Relief-Fraud-Scheme-USAO-ED-MI-06-01-2023.pdf

Size

164,990 bytes

SHA-256

c3bca5b8a3867568258acac0ccc2dde1d750b93c253e4fa233bb4b6a5811863f

Our copy

2023-06-02-Eight-Arrested-in-Multi-Million-Dollar-Pandemic-Relief-Fraud-Scheme-USAO-ED-MI-06-01-2023.pdf

Original

No public link identified.