MIRAMAR, Fla. — A 48-year-old Miramar man by the name of Andre Clark has been sentenced to 33 months in prison after he tried to get $7,263,564 from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The program also referred to as PPP, has loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration which falls under the CARES Act.
According to a United States Department of Justice news release, court documents revealed that Clark admitted to obtaining a PPP loan for $488,565 for his company, Top Choice LLC.
He also admitted he requested $6,774,999 in fraudulent PPP loans, court records say.
Clark was able to receive this substantial amount of money based on falsified information and documents that a co-conspirator, James Stote, submitted on his behalf.
The Miramar resident also "recruited" his friend and associates to Stote in order for them to receive fraudulent payments.
"Clark admitted to seeking $6,774,999 in fraudulent PPP loans through other conspirators that he referred to the scheme," the press release said.
Clark was also ordered to pay $2,975,086 in restitution in addition to his prison sentence.
Two other co-conspirators were also sentenced earlier this month for their roles in the scheme according to the Department of Justice.
On July 29, Tonye Johnson, a 29-year-old man of Philadelphia, Penn. was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he wrongfully obtained a PPP loan of $389,627 for his company, Synergy Towing & Transport LLC.
Tiara Walker, a 38-year-old woman from Miami Gardens, Florida, is facing 12 months and a day in prison. She admitted to obtaining a fraudulent PPP loan of $258,575 for her company, Utilization Review Pros LLC, according to court documents.
Johnson and Walker lied about the number of employees and monthly payroll for their companies. They too worked with Stote and other co-conspirators to obtain their fraudulent loans.
As for James Stote, he was charged by complaint — which is only an allegation, on June 24, 2020, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His case remains pending.
Since the start of PPP loans, Fraud Section attorneys have had their hands full with prosecuting more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The section has seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds as a result of PPP fraud, in addition to real estate properties and luxury items purchased with the proceeds.
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