Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to $3.6M Covid-19 Relief Fraud
Summary
A press release published May 9, 2024, with a Greensboro, NC dateline, titled "Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to $3.6M Covid-19 Relief Fraud." It states that Bennett Ababio of Maryland pled guilty to one-count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States related to fraudulent loan applications seeking approximately $3.6 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. According to court documents, the release says, between May 2020 and December 2021 Ababio conspired to submit fraudulent PPP loan and forgiveness applications, and received $2,581,833 in PPP loans for companies. Sentencing is scheduled to take place on September 10, 2024, before United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr.
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
Cite this document
“Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to $3.6M Covid-19 Relief Fraud.”
Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-05-09-maryland-man-pleads-guilty-to-3-6m-covid-19-relief-fraud-c9-4a4d12280c/
, SHA-256 de6eafe5fba2dc5f2e6974d8eb869494ea09c9b19a179085c99dd2409b5fd523.Full text
GREENSBORO, NC – BENNETT ABABIO of Maryland pled guilty today to one-count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States related to a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications seeking approximately $3.6 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that the Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. According to court documents, between May 2020 and December 2021, ABABIO conspired to submit fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan and forgiveness applications for himself and others, including an individual located in Greensboro, North Carolina. ABABIO owned, or partially owned, five companies for which ABABIO submitted fraudulent PPP applications. In total, ABABIO received $2,581,833 in PPP loans for his companies. The PPP applications contained false statements about the payroll expenses of each company, which the SBA used to calculate the amount of PPP funds to which the applicant-companies would be entitled. Separately, ABABIO helped others prepare fraudulent PPP applications, resulting in over $1 million in additional PPP loans being disbursed to ABABIO’s clients. Sentencing is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina, courtroom number one, before United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. At sentencing, ABABIO faces a maximum sentence of five in prison, a period of supervised release of up to three years, and monetary penalties. The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation is investigating the case, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Waid. ###
File and source
- File
- 2024-05-09_maryland-man-pleads-guilty-to-3-6m-covid-19-relief-fraud_c9a8d3a0.md.txt
- Size
- 1,690 bytes
- SHA-256
- de6eafe5fba2dc5f2e6974d8eb869494ea09c9b19a179085c99dd2409b5fd523
- Original
- www.justice.gov