Columbus PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

Columbus PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

You took a PPP loan in 2020. Maybe the numbers werent perfect. Maybe your accountant handled everything and you signed where they told you to sign. Maybe you used some of the funds for things that didnt quite fit the rules. And now its 2025 and you thought you were safe because nothing happened.

Heres the thing nobody tells you: the federal government has until 2030 or 2031 to indict you. The statute of limitations extended to 10 years in 2022. That loan you took in April 2020? Prosecutable until April 2030. You are not safe because time passed.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you real information about PPP fraud defense in Columbus – not the sanitized version you find on other websites. We represent business owners across Ohio who are facing federal PPP investigations, and we believe you deserve to know exactly what your up against before you make any decisions.

The Southern District of Ohio is actively prosecuting PPP fraud cases right now. January 2025. These arent cases from the early days of enforcement. These are cases the government has been building methodically for years, waiting for the right moment. And the sentences are severe. 63 months. 70 months. 84 months. 94 months. Real Ohio business owners. Real federal prison time.

If your reading this because youve received an SBA letter, or because the FBI showed up at your business, or because your hearing that a former partner is talking to investigators – you need to understand something. The next decisions you make will determine whether this becomes a federal conviction or whether there might be another path. And most of the obvious moves are traps.

The Repayment Trap: Why “Making It Right” Destroys Your Defense

Heres the first thing every Columbus business owner thinks when they realize theres a problem with their PPP loan: “I’ll just pay it back. I’ll make it right. That shows good faith.”

This is exactly what federal prosecutors want you to do.

When you voluntarily repay a PPP loan, prosecutors dont see a business owner trying to correct an honest mistake. They see what they call “consciousness of guilt” evidence. You knew something was wrong. You tried to cover it up by returning the money. Your repayment becomes Exhibit A at your trial.

Think about that for a second. The thing that feels like the most ethical response – admitting error and making restitution – actualy destroys your defense before you even hire an attorney.

In 2021, quick repayment sometimes worked. The government was overwhelmed with cases and didnt have the infrastructure to pursue everyone. Paying back the loan and hoping they’d move on wasnt crazy.

Thats not 2025.

The DOJ COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force now specificaly targets voluntary repayers. Why? Because you made their job easy. You confessed. You created evidence. You eliminated any reasonable doubt about whether you knew the funds were improperly obtained. They dont have to prove intent anymore – you demonstrated it by returning the money.

Todd Spodek has seen this pattern destroy cases that might have been defensible. Clients come to Spodek Law Group after theyve already repaid, after theyve already talked to investigators, after theyve already sent letters trying to explain. And every one of those actions made prosecution more likely, not less.

Do not repay your PPP loan without consulting a federal criminal defense attorney first. This isnt about delaying the inevitable. Its about understanding that what feels right and what protects you legally are completly different things.

You’re Already in a Race You Dont Know About

Heres the second thing Columbus business owners dont understand about PPP fraud investigations: if anyone else was involved in your loan application, your already competing against them.

Your spouse who co-signed. Your business partner who provided the payroll figures. The accountant who prepared the application. The loan broker who “knew how to get it approved.” Every one of those people is a potential cooperating witness.

And heres the uncomfortable truth nobody mentions: there are financial incentives for them to turn on you.

Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers who report PPP fraud can recieve 15 to 30 percent of the funds the goverment recovers. Thats not a typo. If your business partner reports your $500,000 PPP loan fraud, they could recieve $75,000 to $150,000 for cooperating. Plus immunity from prosecution. Plus sentencing reductions if theyre already charged.

The first person to cooperate gets the best deal. Thats basicly how federal prosecution works. The goverment doesnt need everyone to testify – they need one insider who can explain how the fraud worked. Once they have that person, everyone else basicly becomes a defendant.

So while your sitting there thinking “I’ll wait and see what happens,” your former accountant might be in a proffer session right now, explaining exactley how you knew the payroll numbers were inflated. Your buisness partner might be negotiating their immunity agreement. Your spouse might be making a deal to avoid prosecution completley.

You dont know this race is happening until its over.

Clients come to Spodek Law Group and say “I trust my partner, they would never do that.” And sometimes their right. But sometimes they find out their trusted partner has been cooperating for six months. By then, the case is essentially over.

This is why timing matters more then most people understand. The window to negotiate, to potentially cooperate first if thats the right strategy, to control the narrative – that window closes without warning.

10 Years, Not 5: The Statute of Limitations Reality

Most federal crimes have a five-year statute of limitations. Thats what people expect. Thats what gives Columbus business owners false comfort when nothing happens for a few years after their PPP loan.

PPP fraud is different.

In 2022, Congress extended the statute of limitations for COVID-19 relief fraud to 10 years for any fraud exceding one million dollars. Even for smaller amounts, the standard five-year clock often dosent start when you think it does.

Lets be specific about what this means for you:

• PPP loan from March 2020? Prosecutable until at least March 2025, potentially March 2030
• PPP loan from December 2020? Prosecutable until at least December 2025, potentially December 2030
• PPP loan from early 2021? Prosecutable until at least 2026, potentially 2031

The federal government built infrastructure specificaly to prosecute these cases over the long term. Five COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force units. Prosecutors and agents from the Department of Labor OIG, SBA OIG, FBI, and Secret Service. This isnt a temporary initiative that will wind down. This is a permanent enforcement apparatus that will continue operating for years.

Heres whats happening right now: the government is reviewing data, identifying outliers, building cases. They have access to every PPP loan application ever filed. They can cross-reference your application against your tax returns, your bank statements, your payroll records. They have sophisticated data analysis tools that flag inconsistencies automaticaly.

The cases being prosecuted in 2025 are cases where the investigation started years ago. The goverment took their time. They built comperhensive evidence. They waited untill they were certain they could prove intentional fraud.

You not recieving a target letter yet dosent mean your not under investigation. It might mean your case is still being built. It might mean their waiting for a cooperating witness to finalize their agreemant. It might mean their simply being thorough.

The statute of limitations provides cold comfort. You could receive a target letter in 2028 for a loan you took in 2020. And by then, whatever defenses you might have had – whatever evidence of good faith reliance on professional advice – will be much harder to reconstruct.

The Letter That Ends Careers: SBA Audit Responses

You receive a letter from the SBA Office of Inspector General. It asks you to explain discrepancies in your PPP loan application. Maybe the payroll numbers dont match your tax returns. Maybe they want documentation you dont have. Maybe they just want “clarification.”

This letter feels administrative. It feels like a chance to clear things up. Most Columbus business owners respond exactly how you would expect – they try to explain.

And in doing so, they confess to federal crimes.

“I may have overstated my payroll expenses slightly” – thats basicly an admission of wire fraud. “I didnt realize PPP required exact figures from my tax returns” – thats an admission of making false statments. “My accountant handled the numbers, I just signed” – thats not a defense, thats evidance that you knew something might be wrong.

By the time these buisness owners hire federal criminal defense counsel, theyve alredy created the goverments case in writing. Their own words. Their own signiture. Sent voluntarily without any legal advice.

Do not respond to any SBA, OIG, FBI, or DOJ communication without consulting a federal criminal defense attorney first.

This isnt paranoia. This is understanding how federal investagations work. That letter isnt a misunderstanding to be cleared up. Its potentialy the begining of a criminal case. Your response isnt going to a helpful burocrat who wants to resolve things amicably. Its going to investigators who are building a file.

Every word you write can and will be used against you. Thats not an exageration. Federal prosecutors read these response letters aloud at trial. They quote your exact words. They show the jury how you admitted the fraud yourself.

Todd Spodek has represented clients who were certain they could handle the letter on their own. Smart, successful business owners. Entrepreneurs who built companies. People who had never been in trouble before. And almost universaly, their responses made prosecution inevitable.

The correct response to an SBA audit letter is to say nothing until you have counsel. Let an attorney review the letter, understand what their actually asking, and formulate a response that doesnt incriminate you. This isnt about lying or hiding things. Its about not volunteering a confession.

Southern District of Ohio: What Sentences Actually Look Like

Lets talk about real cases. Not hypotheticals. Not national averages. Actual sentences handed down by federal judges in Ohio for PPP fraud.

Joseph Lentine III, Cincinnati – Sentenced January 2025 to 63 months in federal prison for COVID-19 relief fraud involving millions of dollars.

Lorie Schaefer, Cincinnati area – Sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for a $2.8 million PPP and EIDL fraud scheme. Used pandemic relief funds for personal expenses.

Kelli Prather, Cincinnati – Convicted at trial in summer 2023, sentenced April 2024 to 84 months in federal prison. Thats 7 years. She went to trial and lost.

Terrence Pounds, Ohio – Sentenced to 94 months in federal prison. Thats nearly 8 years. Multi-million dollar scheme.

See the pattern?

These sentences cluster between 63 and 94 months. Five to eight years in federal prison. And look at Kelli Prather – she went to trial. She got 84 months. Federal trials have over 90% conviction rates. Going to trial in a PPP fraud case essentialy guarentees maximum sentancing.

These arent distant stories from other jurisdictions. These are Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland cases. Ohio business owners who thought they could explain their way out. Ohio business owners who went to trial believing the jury would understand. Ohio business owners who are now serving federal prison sentences.

Federal prison is different from state prison. Theres no parole in the federal system. You serve at least 85% of your sentence. A 70-month sentence means approximately 59 months actualy incarcerated. Nearly five years away from your family, your business, your life.

And after you serve your time? Supervised release. Restitution payments that can take decades. A federal conviction that follows you forever. Loss of voting rights in some states. Inablity to hold certain proffesional licenses. Destruction of your reputaion.

At Spodek Law Group, we show clients exactly what their facing. Not to scare them, but because informed decisions require understanding consequences. When you know the alternative is potentially 70 months in federal prison, the cost of proper legal representation makes sense.

The “I Was Confused” Defense Actually Requires Proof

During 2020, the SBA issued constantly changing guidance about PPP eligibility. Interim final rules were amended multiple times. What counted as payroll? Which expenses were covered? How do you calculate headcount? The rules genuinly were confusing.

So “I was confused by the guidance” seems like a reasonable defense. And in some cases, it can be.

But heres what prosecutors require to defeat this defense: you need documented evidence that you consulted professionals before applying and relied on their advice.

Not “I talked to my accountant.” Documented evidance. Emails showing you asked about eligability requirements. Memos from attorneys explaining the rules. Written calculations from CPAs. Proffesional advice given before you signed the application.

Without this documentation, “I was confused” is just words. Prosecutors dismiss it as post-hoc rationalization. You made the application, you signed the certifications, you received the money, you spent it. Now your claiming confusion? Thats what everyone claims.

The strongest PPP fraud defenses present contemporaneous evidence of good faith reliance on professional advice. “On March 15, 2020, I emailed my accountant asking whether my company qualified. On March 18, they responded with this analysis. I relied on their calculations when I completed the application.”

If you have that paper trail, the confusion defense becomes powerfull. You can argue you made reasonable interpretations of ambigous guidance based on professional advice. Prosecutors must prove you knew the guidance meant something different then what your advisors told you. Thats a high bar.

If you dont have that paper trail? Your going to need a different defense strategy.

This is why early legal involvement matters. If your already under investigation, we cant go back in time and create documentation that doesnt exist. But we can look for evidence of good faith that you might not realize you have. Emails with accountants. Communications with loan brokers. Evidence of the actual chaos and confusion that existed in spring 2020.

Your Accountant Isnt Going to Prison for You

Heres a conversation that happens at Spodek Law Group regularley:

“My accountant prepared the application. They told me what numbers to use. They said it was fine. If anyone should be in trouble, its them.”

This misunderstands how federal prosecution works.

You signed the PPP application. You certified that the information was accurate. Your name is on the loan. The money went to your bank account. The government will hold you responsible regardless of who prepared the paperwork.

Your accountant might also face prosecution. Loan preparers who facilitated PPP fraud have been charged seperately. But that doesnt help you. Their prosecution is their problem. Your prosecution is your problem.

Worse, your accountant has every incentive to cooperate against you. They have multiple clients. Multipul potential cases. If they can demonstate they were just following client instructions – that you provided the inflated payroll numbers, that you insisted on certain claims – they reduce their own liabilty.

We’ve seen this happen repeatedley. The accountant who “handled everything” provides the government with a detailed statement explaining exactly what the client asked them to do. Emails the client forgot existed. Notes from phone calls. A narrative that puts all the fraudulent intent on the business owner.

The same goes for loan brokers. The same goes for buisness partners. The same goes for anyone who touched your PPP application. They are not your alies. They are potental cooperating witnesses. And they will protect themselfs.

This is why its critcal to understand your actual legal position before talking to anyone – including people you thought were on your side. An attorney can help you evalutate wheather former associates might cooperate, what evidance they might provide, and how to structure your defense acordingly.

What Happens When You Call Spodek Law Group

You call 212-300-5196. Someone answers. Not a receptionist who takes a message. Someone who can actualy talk to you about your situation.

We understand that if your reading this, your probably terrified. Maybe you havent slept properly in weeks. Maybe your spouse doesnt know the full extent of whats happening. Maybe you’ve been trying to research this yourself and every article you read makes things seem worse.

Heres what working with Spodek Law Group on a Columbus PPP fraud case actually looks like:

First, we understand your specific situation. Not generalities about PPP fraud. Your loan. Your application. Your circumstances. What prompted your concern. What communications have happened. What evidence exists.

Second, we identify where you actualy stand. Are you under investigation? Have you been identified as a target? Have you already made statements that complicate your defense? Have potential cooperating witnesses already talked to the government?

Third, we explore your options. Not every PPP case requires the same strategy. Sometimes early intervention and cooperation produces the best outcome. Sometimes aggressive defense is necessary. Sometimes civil resolution is possible. We evaluate whats realistic for your specific circumstances.

Fourth, we give you a clear picture of potential outcomes. Best case. Worst case. What factors influence where you fall on that spectrum. What you can do to improve your position. What mistakes to avoid.

This isnt about making promises we cant keep. Its about replacing fear with information. When you understand what your actualy facing, you can make rational decisions instead of panicking into mistakes.

Todd Spodek built Spodek Law Group on one principle: clients deserve the truth, even when its uncomfortable. We’re not going to tell you everything will be fine if it wont. We’re not going to minimize serious charges. We’re going to tell you exactly what we see and work with you to navigate it.

If your a Columbus business owner facing questions about a PPP loan – whether thats a formal investigation or just mounting anxiety about what might happen – call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. The cost of waiting isnt.

The federal government has years to prosecute you. But the window to protect yourself is much shorter. The decisions you make in the next few weeks – who you talk to, what you say, how you respond – will shape everything that follows.

Dont navigate this alone.