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Kansas PPP – SBA – EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers
Kansas PPP – SBA – EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to small businesses across the country. To help struggling companies stay afloat, the federal government offered various relief programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. While these initiatives provided a lifeline for many legitimate businesses, some unscrupulous actors saw an opportunity for fraud.In Kansas, PPP and EIDL fraud is on the rise.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas has ramped up prosecutions, charging business owners with a litany of federal crimes. Defendants face charges like wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements, and money laundering. Penalties can include hefty fines, asset forfeiture, and years in federal prison.Prosecutors treat PPP and EIDL fraud very seriously.
These relief programs used taxpayer dollars to help hard-hit companies survive the pandemic’s economic fallout. When ineligible businesses obtain funds through deception, it deprives truly needy firms of vital support. It also erodes public trust in critical government initiatives during a national emergency.
Federal Laws Used to Prosecute PPP/EIDL Fraud
Federal prosecutors rely on several key statutes to charge PPP and EIDL fraud in Kansas:
Wire Fraud – Making interstate wire transmissions to execute a fraudulent scheme. Sending falsified documents by email or electronic loan portals can qualify. Penalties include up to 20 years imprisonment.
Bank Fraud – Schemes to defraud or obtain money from a FDIC-insured bank unlawfully. Penalties include up to 30 years imprisonment.
False Statements – Making materially false representations in any matter within federal agency jurisdiction. Punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment.
Aggravated Identity Theft – Using another person’s means of identification without legal authority during certain felony offenses. This charge carries a mandatory 2 year prison term.
Money Laundering – Engaging in financial transactions involving criminally derived proceeds. Penalties include up to 20 years imprisonment.In Kansas, defendants in PPP and EIDL fraud cases often face multiple charges that can lead to severe cumulative sentences. Prosecutors frequently pursue asset forfeiture as well, seeking to seize fraudulently obtained funds and other valuables.
Common Types of PPP and EIDL Fraud
While PPP and EIDL scams can be complex, some patterns emerge. Here are a few typical fraud techniques observed in Kansas:
Falsified loan applications – Misrepresenting business information like number of employees, payroll expenses, cost of goods sold, or other figures to secure larger loans or qualify for relief programs.
Fake supporting documents – Creating phony tax returns, bank statements, payroll records, or other files to back up false information on applications.
Unqualified recipients – Businesses obtaining PPP/EIDL funds that don’t meet basic eligibility requirements. Examples include newly formed companies with no real operations.
Personal use – Business owners utilizing relief funds for unauthorized personal purchases like real estate, luxury items, and investments rather than approved operational expenses.
Duplicate loans – Applying for and receiving multiple PPP loans from different lenders, exceeding the legal $10 million cap.
Identity theft – Using stolen personal information to apply for fraudulent loans under someone else’s name.
Fake employees – Fabricating employee names and Social Security numbers to claim nonexistent payroll expenses.
As Kansas PPP and EIDL fraud cases make clear, the schemes vary but often share certain attributes like falsified paperwork, ineligible recipients, and misuse of funds.