Man sentenced for PPP loan fraud of more than half a million dollars (USAO Kansas, 2026)

Summary

A press release from USAO - Kansas published 2026-01-16, "Man sentenced for PPP loan fraud of more than half a million dollars". It announces that Dion Daniel, 36, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and must pay $552,214 in restitution after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud. The release states that the false information resulted in a loss of $522,000 for the Small Business Administration. It states, according to court documents, that in 2020 Daniel lied on multiple PPP loan applications about employee numbers and monthly payroll at two Missouri-based businesses and submitted IRS forms that had not been filed with the IRS. It states that Daniel wrote checks to individuals who did not work for the businesses and kept part of the cashed money.

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KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri man was sentenced to 21 months in prison for submitting false information on applications for disaster relief loans resulting in a loss of $522,000 for the Small Business Administration (SBA).  The Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") was intended to provide financial relief to business owners dealing with economic losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, Dion Daniel, 36, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. As part of his sentence, Daniel must pay $552,214 in restitution.
In 2020, Daniel lied on multiple PPP loan applications about the number of employees and the amount of monthly payroll expenses at his two Missouri-based businesses. He submitted Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms with the loan applications that had not been filed with the IRS.
Daniel attempted to conceal spending loan proceeds for his personal use instead of for business expenses. He wrote checks to individuals who did not work for him. After they cashed the checks, Daniel gave them part of the money and kept the rest for himself.
“Although we are now years removed from the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutions continue of individuals who abused the Paycheck Protection Program,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “To those of you who committed perjury to get government money you weren’t entitled to, don’t think because you haven’t yet faced justice that you’re in the clear. We’re federal prosecutors. We don’t overlook crimes, nor do we forget about the people who commit them.”
“When the CARES Act was enacted into law nearly six years ago, the federal government simplified the loan application process to get relief into the hands of desperate small businesses as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, fraudsters found ways to exploit the process,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “Our special agents are experts at uncovering where funds originated and where they were spent.  We’re proud to use our expertise alongside our law enforcement partners to bring accountability for hardworking taxpayers.”
The IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Oakley prosecuted the case.
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