OIG News Release — U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Nearly $9 Million in Fraud and Laundering Proceeds

Summary

This is an Office of Inspector General news release, published on May 28, 2025, that links to the original Department of Justice press release. It states that on May 14, 2025, U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz entered a final judgment forfeiting to the United States approximately $7 million in fraud and money laundering proceeds, as well as a real property with an estimated market value of nearly $2 million, United States Attorney Alina Habba announced. As alleged in the civil forfeiture complaint, between April 2020 and August 2020 Jae H. Choi fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling approximately $8,971,457 and then laundered the proceeds through various financial accounts in the names of nominees.

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OIG news release

U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures Nearly $9 Million in Fraud and Money Laundering Proceeds from Fraudulently Obtained Paycheck Protection Program Loans

Published on May 28, 2025 by Office of Inspector General

Click Here to View the Original U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release

On May 14, 2025, U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz entered a final judgment forfeiting to the United States approximately $7 million in fraud and money laundering proceeds, as well as a real property purchased with laundered fraud proceeds that has an estimated market value of nearly $2 million, United States Attorney Alina Habba announced.

On May 6, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint against approximately $7 million in seized and frozen U.S. currency, as well as a real property in Cresskill, New Jersey, that was purchased with nearly $1 million in laundered fraud proceeds, alleging that the assets were the proceeds of fraud and money laundering offenses. As alleged in the complaint, between April 2020 and August 2020, Jae H. Choi (“Choi”) fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans totaling approximately $8,971,457, and then laundered those fraud proceeds through various financial accounts held in the names of Choi’s nominees, including Choi’s relative and various corporate entities that Choi controlled. According to the civil forfeiture complaint, Choi then spent the laundered fraud proceeds on personal expenses and purchased the Cresskill real property.

United States Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Internal Revenue Service –Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General’s Boston New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly, postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, and special agents of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Braithwaite, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Laserna of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit of the Criminal Division in Newark.

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choi.complaint.pdf

Related programs: Pandemic Oversight, PPP

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