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U.S. Department of Labor OIG, New York Man Arrested for COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme (USAO D-MA 01/26/2022) (2022-01-28)

Summary

A press release from United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins, District of Massachusetts, dated January 26, 2022, announcing the arrest of Ronald Buie, 35, a New York man charged with one count of wire fraud. According to the charging documents, Buie applied for Small Business Administration loans under various false identities with matching bank and email accounts, and submitted fraudulent documentation for a Paycheck Protection Program loan for Platinum Car Service LLC. It alleges that a purported bank statement showed an ending balance of more than $198,000 while bank records show less than $3,000, and that Buie used false identities to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. The release states that the details in the charging documents are allegations.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, New York Man Arrested for COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme (USAO D-MA 01/26/2022) (2022-01-28).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-new-york-man-arrested-for-covid-19-relief-9d286495d0/, SHA-256 31600ce2492d0972ea077abf29e460bf87ff537d875040c214cb9274073a1086.

Full text

                       United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins
                               District of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
January 26, 2022                                                   Phone (617) 748-3356
www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news.html                                usama.media@usdoj.gov

                                      twitter.com/dmanews1

       NEW YORK MAN ARRESTED FOR COVID-19 RELIEF FRAUD SCHEME

       BOSTON – A New York Man was arrested today on charges arising from a scheme to
fraudulently obtain business loans and unemployment pandemic relief funds made available
under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

       Ronald Buie, 35, was charged with one count of wire fraud. Buie will make an initial
appearance in federal court in the Eastern District of New York this afternoon and will appear in
Boston at a later date.

        According to the charging documents, Buie engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) by submitting fraudulent applications for loans offered in
connection with the CARES Act. It is alleged that Buie applied for SBA loans under various
false identities for which he had also opened bank accounts and email accounts. Buie also
allegedly submitted fraudulent documentation to apply for and obtain a fraudulent loan from the
SBA Paycheck Protection Program for his company, Platinum Car Service LLC. Specifically, in
support of his loan application, Buie allegedly provided what he purported to be a monthly bank
statement for his business checking account showing an ending balance of more than $198,000,
whereas bank records for that particular month show that the actual balance was less than
$3,000. In addition, it is alleged that Buie’s scheme also involved the utilization of various false
identities to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits.

         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. Sentences are imposed by a federal
district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

       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.

        United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Frederick J. Regan, Special Agent in Charge
of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of
Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations;
and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, made
the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Secret Service, New
York Field Office; Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance; and the New York
City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely, Chief of Rollins’ Criminal
Division, is prosecuting the case.

      The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

                                              ###

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2022-01-28-New-York-Man-Arrested-for-COVID-19-Relief-Fraud-Scheme-USAO-D-MA-01-26-2022.pdf
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2022-01-28-New-York-Man-Arrested-for-COVID-19-Relief-Fraud-Scheme-USAO-D-MA-01-26-2022.pdf
Original
www.oig.dol.gov
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