Alabama PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers.

April 2024: U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentences Kenzarian Lemark Harris, 38, to 36 months in federal prison for wire fraud involving a $20,833 PPP loan. Same courthouse, same judge, same charges, Reginald Dewayne Rhodes, Jr., 26, receives 18 months for an $11,770 PPP loan. Harris obtained $9,063 more in fraudulent funds; Rhodes received half the prison time. Both men from Tuscaloosa submitted false PPP applications claiming nonexistent businesses. The sentencing disparity wasn't about the fraud amount. Rhodes accepted responsibility. Harris didn't. That differential, acceptance versus resistance, determines whether you serve 18 months or 36 months in Alabama's Northern District federal court.

Federal Lawyers defends PPP fraud cases in Alabama's three federal districts: Northern (Birmingham), Middle (Montgomery), and Southern (Mobile). our lead attorney manages this second-generation firm with over 40 years of combined experience in federal fraud defense. When Alabama federal prosecutors charge you with 30-year maximum statutes for pandemic-era loan applications, constitutional defenses aren't optional.

What Defenses Actually Work in Alabama Federal Court

Good faith reliance on professional advice. If your Alabama accountant calculated payroll costs using a methodology that included owner compensation categories the SBA later clarified were ineligible, that's not fraud. That's a paperwork dispute. Federal prosecutors in Birmingham, Montgomery, or Mobile must prove you KNEW your application contained false statements. Reliance on a CPA's calculations negates criminal intent. Judge Coogler's 50% sentencing reduction for Rhodes demonstrates Alabama federal judges recognize this defense when defendants demonstrate actual reliance on professional guidance during the chaos of April 2020 lockdowns.

Ambiguous SBA guidance. The CARES Act passed March 27, 2020. The SBA issued the first PPP Interim Final Rule on April 2, 2020, six days later. That rule left basic eligibility questions unanswered: How do independent contractors calculate payroll? Can sole proprietors include owner compensation? What documentation proves business operations? The SBA revised these answers through 85 separate guidance documents between April and August 2020, contradicting prior interpretations. When prosecutors in Alabama's Middle District charged Michelle Denise McIntyre and obtained 114 months in prison for Restaurant Revitalization Fund fraud in April 2025, they relied on guidance that didn't exist when she submitted her application. That temporal disconnect creates constitutional problems for prosecutors.