Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the indictment and arrest of Terrence Bradford (46, Tampa)

Summary

A U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida press release, published March 13, 2025, in which Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the indictment and arrest of Terrence Bradford of Tampa for eight counts of wire fraud related to COVID relief funds. It states that if convicted Bradford faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count and a forfeiture order of $533,648.32, which it describes as the alleged proceeds. According to the indictment, between April 2020 and March 2021 Bradford devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration with false Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications. The release says an indictment is merely a formal charge and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

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“Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the indictment and arrest of Terrence Bradford (46, Tampa).” Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-03-13-tampa-man-arrested-for-stealing-more-than-half-a-million-do-b9d59a6843/, SHA-256 3d9aab680a47d98b340d9b15084c60e255ec6659ee1f0ab1744870b18e8bc4a5.

Full text

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the indictment and arrest of Terrence Bradford (46, Tampa) for eight counts of wire fraud related to COVID relief funds. If convicted, Bradford faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count. In addition, he faces a forfeiture order of $533,648.32, which represents the alleged proceeds he obtained through these offenses.
According to the indictment, between April 2020 and March 2021, Bradford devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration by submitting multiple false and fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. These programs were some of the sources of economic relief provided for by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
In May 2021, the Attorney General 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. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Merrilyn Hoenemeyer.

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Our copy: 2025-03-13_tampa-man-arrested-for-stealing-more-than-half-a-million-dollars-in-covi_25f94dbb.md.txt
Original: www.justice.gov