Lewiston Man Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining $20,833 PPP Loan During Pandemic

Summary

A March 12, 2025 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine announcing that U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Shahied Golden, 30, of Lewiston to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release, and ordered $24,090.82 in restitution, for a fraudulent PPP loan application. Golden had pleaded guilty on September 27, 2024, and the sentence runs consecutively to a 27-month state sentence. The release states that in April 2021 he received approximately $20,833 on an application listing false 2020 gross income and a false payroll need for his alleged business, supported by a fraudulent document. It says the funds went to his personal account and were quickly withdrawn.

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Full text

BANGOR, Maine:
A Lewiston man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for filing a fraudulent application for a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced
Shahied Golden
, 30, to 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $24,090.82 in restitution. Golden pleaded guilty on September 27, 2024. The sentence will be served consecutively to Golden’s 27-month state prison sentence for illegal possession of a firearm and a state probation violation.
According to court records, in April 2021, Golden filed a fraudulent PPP loan application and received approximately $20,833 in PPP funds. The application listed a false gross income for 2020 and falsely stated the loan proceeds were needed to make payroll payments for his alleged business. He also submitted a fraudulent document in support of his application, which falsely stated his gross income, among other things. Further, Golden caused the funds to be deposited into his own personal bank account, quickly withdrew the funds, and did not use the PPP proceeds for approved expenses.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP):
The PPP was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. The PPP permitted participating third-party lenders to approve and disburse SBA-backed PPP loans to cover payroll, fixed debts, utilities, rent/mortgage, accounts payable and other bills incurred by qualifying businesses during, and resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP loans were fully guaranteed by the SBA.
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