U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining Nearly $50,000 in COVID-Relief Funds (USAO D-MA 06/18/2024) (2024-06-20)

Summary

A June 18, 2024 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announcing that Antawn Davis pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements in connection with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The release states that Davis was charged and arrested in February 2024, together with alleged members and associates of the Heath Street Gang. According to the release, in April and May 2021 Davis submitted PPP loan applications with false statements about the purported business's 2020 gross income and the purpose of the loan, received approximately $49,999, and spent it on non-business expenses including transactions at a casino and at Saks Fifth Avenue. U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing.

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Full text

PRESS RELEASE



Boston Man Pleads Guilty to
Fraudulently Obtaining Nearly
$50,000 in COVID-Relief Funds
Tuesday, June 18, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

Defendant spent funds at a casino and Saks Fifth Avenue

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today to fraud and false statements charges in
connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related relief funds from the
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security Act.

Antawn Davis, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making
false statements. U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing for Sept.
16, 2024. Davis was charged and arrested in February 2024 along with over 40 alleged
Heath Street Gang members/associates, who were charged with racketeering
conspiracy; drug trafficking; firearms charges; and financial frauds, including COVID-
related fraud.

In April and May 2021, Davis submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of his
purported business. The applications contained multiple false statements, including the
purported business’ total gross income in 2020 and the purpose of the loan. Davis also
submitted false tax records in support of his loan applications. Based on the fraudulent
applications, Davis received approximately $49,999 in PPP loans, which he then spent on
non-business-related expenses, including transactions at a casino and at Saks Fifth
Avenue.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three
years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss
from the offense. The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up
to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to
$10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a
criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox;
Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector
General; and Harry T. Chavis Jr, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service
Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah
Hoefle and Lucy Sun of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)
operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal
organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven,
multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be
found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

On May 17, 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, among other methods, 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. For more information
on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud
(NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining
defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt in the court of law.

Updated June 18, 2024

Topics
CORONAVIRUS
FINANCIAL FRAUD


Component
USAO - Massachusetts


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