Middle District Of Florida Task Force Continues To Combat COVID-19 Fraud (Press Release, July 22, 2024)

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, dated Monday, July 22, 2024, in which U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results of the office's work against COVID-19 fraud. The release states that since its inception through June 30, 2024, the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force has prosecuted 89 defendants, who sought to defraud the United States of over $84.5 million, and that prosecution remains pending against 22 defendants. As examples it describes the April 2024 jury verdict finding Barrett Purvis guilty of wire fraud and money laundering over a $500,000 loan, and the June 2024 sentence of Evan Graves to 18 months in federal prison with forfeiture of approximately $1.35 million. The release reports forfeiture of more than $20 million of fraudulently obtained funds.

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PRESS RELEASE

Middle District Of Florida Task Force Continues To Combat COVID-19 Fraud

Monday, July 22, 2024

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved by the
Middle District of Florida to combat fraud related to COVID-19. This work has included
complementary efforts by the United States Attorney’s Office’s (USAO-MDFL) Criminal, Asset
Recovery, Appellate, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies.

“The Middle District of Florida United States Attorney’s Office continues to pursue, investigate,
prosecute, and recover money from those who were engaged in fraud schemes designed to steal
benefits intended for Americans coping with the myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said
U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg.

On the criminal enforcement front, the USAO-MDFL and federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies combined resources in March 2020 to form the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud
Task Force to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Since its inception through June 30, 2024, the Task Force has prosecuted 89 defendants for fraud
schemes designed to exploit federal programs including the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”),
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”), Unemployment Insurance (“UI”), the Main Street Lending
Program (“MSLP”), the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (“ERAP”), as well as government
Healthcare programs such as Medicare. Collectively, these defendants sought to defraud the
United States of over $84.5 million. Sixty-seven of those defendants have already been found guilty,
while prosecution remains pending against 22 defendants. (See chart for criminal case details.)

For example, in April 2024, a federal jury found Barrett Purvis guilty of wire fraud and money
laundering. According to court records, Purvis applied for and received a $500,000 EIDL in May
2021. Although he applied on behalf of a legitimate small business he owned and operated, Purvis
never intended to use any of the loan proceeds on working capital as required by the terms of the
loan agreement. Instead, Purvis spent approximately half of the proceeds on gambling debt and the
rest on other personal debt, including debt incurred on his girlfriend’s three credit cards. Within two
weeks of receiving the loan, Purvis had used nearly all the proceeds on personal expenses,
unrelated to any legitimate business.

Additionally, in June 2024, Evan Graves was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered
to forfeit approximately $1.35 million and five Fort Myers properties he purchased using his
fraudulently obtained EIDL. According to court records, between June 20 and July 23, 2020, Graves
submitted 10 EIDL applications to the SBA on behalf of his various Fort Myers-based companies. To
qualify for large loan amounts and advance funding, Graves falsely represented his companies’
number of employees, gross revenue, and lost rental income due to the COVID-19 disaster. In total,
Graves’s fraudulent representations caused the SBA to approve all 10 loans and deposit
approximately $1.35 million into bank accounts he controlled. Following disbursement of the EIDL
funding, Graves unlawfully used the money to pay off personal credit card debt, fund personal
investment accounts, satisfy mortgages, and purchase real estate.

Further, the USAO-MDFL’s Asset Recovery Division and federal seizing agencies have completed
the forfeiture of more than $20 million of EIDL, UI, and PPP funds that were fraudulently obtained,
depriving the fraudsters of their ill-gotten gains and recovering the proceeds for the victims. More
than $18 million in additional pandemic fraud proceeds have been seized and are pending civil or
criminal forfeiture.

The U.S. Attorney General has established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal
the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to
enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. For more information on the
department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Through the PPP, the federal government authorized over $600 billion in forgivable loans to small
businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. The EIDL program
provides economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of
revenue. The MSLP provided support to small and medium-sized businesses and their employees
across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. UI programs provided unemployment
benefits to eligible workers who became unemployed through no fault of their own.

The criminal cases charged by the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force have been
investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue
Service—Criminal Investigation, the Department of Labor—Office of Inspector General, the U.S.
Postal Service, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Small Business Administration, the Small
Business Administration—Office of Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation—Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery,
Federal Reserve Board—Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services—
Office of Inspector General, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police
Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County
Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the
Winter Park Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Seminole County Sheriff’s
Office, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorneys throughout the Middle District of Florida.

The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and reporting
suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National Center for Disaster
Fraud (“NCDF”) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-
fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and
referred to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for
investigation.


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