Star Tribune, "St. Paul man admits to fraudulently getting $841K in COVID loans"

Summary

A Star Tribune article reports that Kyle W. Brenizer of St. Paul pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft over $841,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans for his defunct construction company, True-Cut Construction. According to the charges, the state had ordered the company to cease and desist in August 2018, and Brenizer's first application on May 1, 2020 was denied. The indictment says he reapplied using another person's name and falsely stated an average monthly payroll of $336,400 for about 30 employees. He allegedly bought a $29,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle with the proceeds. Defense attorney Kevin DeVore said the loss calculation will be a point of contention at sentencing.

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St. Paul man admits to fraudulently getting $841,000 in COVID loans for his defunct construction business

A 33-year-old St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $841,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program created to help small businesses harmed by COVID-19.

Kyle W. Brenizer admitted Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft in connection with the loans for his defunct construction company.

Sentencing has yet to be scheduled. In the meantime, Brenizer remains in federal custody without bail in the Sherburne County jail.

Defense attorney Kevin DeVore said Tuesday that "after reviewing the evidence ... the decision was made that the government had sufficient evidence to prove its case. As a result, it was better to focus our energy on the sentencing issues like loss [amount] calculation rather than on the issue of guilt or innocence."

DeVore said the plea agreement has a wide range of sentencing possibilities "due to the loss calculation, which will be a point of contention at the sentencing hearing."

According to the charges, Brenizer's Brooklyn Park-based True-Cut Construction had been ordered by the state to cease and desist from doing business in August 2018, and in December 2019, its contractor license lapsed and was not renewed.

Brenizer first submitted a loan application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) program seeking $841,000 on May 1, 2020, and was denied. Under the program, approved by Congress at the beginning of the pandemic, qualifying small businesses could get two-year loans to cover payroll costs, mortgage, rent or utility expenses.

Brenizer again tried to obtain the money 10 days later, but this time he used the name of another person, according to the federal indictment. He allegedly falsely represented that the other, unidentified person owned 90% of the company. He also falsely stated that the company's average monthly payroll was $336,400 for about 30 employees, the indictment said.

Prosecutors alleged that Brenizer used phony bank statements and IRS documents in his loan applications, and was approved for a PPP loan on his second try.

Brenizer bought a $29,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, transferred the bulk of the loan that he obtained to a bank account unrelated to his company, and "paid for various retail and entertainment expenditures for his personal benefit," the charges against him read.

Brenizer also has been named in multiple state felony charges of check forgery, identity theft and theft by swindle, the indictment noted, but he denied having any pending criminal charges in his application.

State court records also show that Brenizer has previously been convicted of criminal sexual conduct, illegal drug possession and violating a domestic abuse no-contact order.

Star Tribune staff writer Stephen Montemayor contributed to this report.

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