California CEO Sentenced for Role in Covid-19 Relief Fraud Resulting in Millions of Stolen Funds (SBA OIG, August 7, 2025)
Summary
An OIG news release published August 7, 2025 by the Office of Inspector General. It reports that Abraham Park, of La Mirada, California, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $6,993,700 in restitution and $535,041 in forfeiture for his role in defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. According to court documents cited in the release, from March 2020 through October 2022 Park submitted over 120 fraudulent applications to the SBA, resulting in a total funded and unfunded loss of over $12 million. It states that Park pleaded guilty on March 20 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
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“California CEO Sentenced for Role in Covid-19 Relief Fraud Resulting in Millions of Stolen Funds (SBA OIG, August 7, 2025).”
Original at legacy.sba.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-08-07-california-ceo-sentenced-for-role-in-covid-19-relief-fraud-9b095fcc50/
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OIG news release California CEO Sentenced for Role in Covid-19 Relief Fraud Resulting in Millions of Stolen Funds Published on August 7, 2025 by Office of Inspector General Click Here to Sign Up for SBA OIG Email Updates on Recent Investigative Cases, Audit Oversight Reports, and General News Click Here to View the Original U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release A California man was sentenced today to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $6,993,700 in restitution and $535,041 in forfeiture for his role in defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA) out of millions of dollars in loans through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. According to court documents, from March 2020 through October 2022, Abraham Park, 67, of La Mirada, California, submitted over 120 fraudulent applications to the SBA for EIDL loans on behalf of himself and others which resulted in a total funded and unfunded loss of over $12 million. Park was the owner and CEO of a California financial services company that assisted clients with obtaining financing, including loans, and repairing credit scores. After the Covid-19 pandemic started, Park advised his clients to create fictitious corporate entities so that he could submit fraudulent EIDL loan applications to the SBA on their behalf. In return, his clients paid Park a portion of the funded loans as a kickback. In addition to submitting applications for his clients, Park also submitted several applications for himself and his family members for fictitious entities. In total, 73 fraudulent loans were funded, which resulted in a nearly $7 million dollar loss to the SBA. On March 20, Park pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office; Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office; and Western Region Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Huang of the SBA Office of Inspector General, made the announcement. The IRS-CI, FBI, and SBA-OIG are investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Brandon Burkart and Andrew Jaco of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud. Related programs: COVID EIDL, Pandemic Oversight
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