Indianapolis PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

Indianapolis PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

You’ve been watching the news. More PPP fraud arrests in Indiana. Names you don’t recognize from cities you’ve driven through. Fort Wayne. Bloomington. South Bend. And you’re thinking about your own PPP loan from 2020 – the one you haven’t thought about in years. The one you assumed was forgotten.

It wasn’t forgotten. Federal investigators have been building cases for five years now. And Indiana has a pattern that might surprise you.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you real information about PPP fraud defense in Indianapolis – the information other law firm websites won’t share. We represent business owners across Indiana who are facing federal investigations, and we believe you deserve to understand exactly what your up against before making any decisions.

Indiana has been unusually lenient on PPP fraud defendants. That’s the good news. Most cases under $100,000 have resulted in probation, not prison. The bad news is that leniency is disappearing. The 2024-2025 cases show sentences running 40% longer than the 2021-2022 cases. Judges who gave probation three years ago are giving prison time now.

If your reading this because you applied for a PPP loan that you weren’t entirely sure you qualified for – or because someone you know just got contacted by investigators – you need to understand what’s actually happening in Indiana. Not what happened two years ago. What’s happening now.

Indiana Was Lenient. That’s Changing.

Heres the first thing Indianapolis business owners dont understand about Indiana PPP prosecutions: this state has been remarkably forgiving compared to places like Charlotte or Los Angeles. The federal courts here gave probation to defendants who would have gotten prison time almost anywhere else.

Look at the numbers. Ivory Hill in Fort Wayne got 24 months probation for a $23,332 fraud. Dashanae Hamlet-Davis got 18 months probation for $23,431. Rachael Robinson in South Bend got probation for $55,280. Jade Price got 12 months probation for $80,355.

These are real cases from Indiana federal courts. Probation. Not prison. For fraud amounts that would have meant incarceration in other districts.

But look at the recent cases. Robert Hall in Bloomington got 41 months in federal prison for $668,746. Kathelia Hopkins in Portage got 21 months for seeking $1.25 million through dozens of fraudulent applications. Brooke Bowie in Indianapolis got 8 months specifically for lying about pending criminal charges on her application.

The pattern is clear. Judges who were lenient in 2021 and 2022 have lost patience. The same conduct that got probation three years ago is now getting prison time. And the window for favorable treatment is closing faster then most people realize.

If you have PPP exposure in Indiana, the time to address it was yesterday. The time to address it now is today. Waiting for 2026 or 2027 means facing judges who have completley run out of sympathy for pandemic-era explanations.

Your Business Address Is Your First Mistake

Heres something Indiana prosecutors are specificaly looking for: business addresses that obviously cant support a business.

D’Ericka Lee in Indianapolis claimed three seperate businesses at residential addresses. The charging documents describe these locations as “incapable of housing a business.” She registered phantom companies at her home address – no storefront, no warehouse, no office space. Just a house.

This is the easiest fraud pattern for investigators to catch. They dont need forensic accountants or complex financial analysis. They just need Google Street View. Your claimed business location is your first vulnerability.

If you filed a PPP application for a business operating out of a residential address, you need to understand how prosecutors will view that. Did you actualy run a business from that location? Can you prove it? Do you have invoices, customer records, and bank deposits showing legitimate commercial activity?

The cases where prosecutors move fastest are the ones were the physical evidance contradicts the application. A manufacturing business at a one-bedroom apartment. A restaurant at a private residence. A retail store at an address that has never housed anything but a family home.

D’Ericka Lee got prosecuted for $10,000. Not a hundred thousand. Not a million. Ten thousand dollars. The fraud was so obvous that prosecutors didnt need a large amount to justify the case. They had the address. They had the application. They had a photograph of a house that clearly wasnt operating three buisnesses.

The Application Question That Becomes Its Own Felony

Heres something most Indianapolis business owners dont know about the PPP application: it asks whether you have pending criminal charges. Question 5 on the form. A simple yes or no checkbox.

Brooke Bowie checked “no.” She had pending felony charges. That single checkbox became a seperate federal charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1014.

Think about what that means. She didnt just get prosecuted for the PPP fraud. She got prosecuted for lying about lying. The false statement about her criminal history became its own criminal case. She got 8 months in federal prison specificaly for that checkbox.

This is how federal prosecutions compound. One false statement on the application is a crime. A second false statement is a second crime. Each lie creates additional exposure, additional charges, additional sentancing points.

And heres the part that gets overlooked: Question 5 isnt asking if youve been convicted. Its asking if you have pending charges. If you were arrested for something that hadnt gone to trial yet when you applied for PPP – and you checked “no” – you have Brooke Bowie’s problem.

The application is a federal document. Every statement on it is made under penalty of perjury. Every false answer is potentialy a seperate federal charge. Prosecutors can pick which lies to prosecute based on which ones are easiest to prove.

An IRS Employee Committed PPP Fraud. While Working at the IRS.

This case deserves its own section because it ilustrates something important about who gets prosecuted.

Rakita Davis worked for the IRS in Fort Wayne. Not a private sector job. The Internal Revenue Service. The federal agency that coordinates with DOJ on fraud prosecutions. The agency that investigates tax crimes.

While collecting a federal paycheck from the IRS, Rakita Davis submitted a PPP application for a fake catering buisness with fabricated payroll figures. She got $55,213.61.

She was prosecuted. 24 months probation. $55,213.61 in restitution.

Heres what this case tells you: nobody is too connected, too carefull, or too inside-the-system to get caught. An IRS employee – someone who should have understood better then anyone how federal fraud investigations work – did it anyway. And got caught anyway.

If your thinking “I’m too small to notice” or “they have bigger targets,” remember Rakita Davis. She worked for the agency doing the investigating. She knew the system. She got prosecuted for $55,000.

The fake catering buisness with fabricated payroll is a pattern prosecutors see constantley. Service businesses with no physical inventory, no equipment, no verifiable overhead. Just claims about employees who never existed doing work that never happened.

Todd Spodek has represented clients who made exactley this mistake. They thought a simple buisness type – consulting, catering, cleaning services – would be harder to verify. The opposite is true. Service businesses without tangible assets are easier to expose because theres nothing physical to examine. Its all paperwork. And when the paperwork is fabricated, prosecutors can prove it.

State Auditors Are Finding PPP Fraud in Municipal Reviews

Heres a hidden connection most Indianapolis business owners dont realize exists: the Indiana State Board of Accounts is catching PPP fraud.

Not federal investigators. State auditors. The people who review municipal finances are finding PPP anomalies and refering them to federal prosecutors.

This is how it works. Cities and counties across Indiana recieved PPP funds for their operations. State auditors review those expenditures as part of routine municipal audits. When they find irregularites – vendors who dont exist, payments that dont match services, subcontractors with suspcious applications – they document it. And sometimes that documentation ends up with the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Your PPP loan might have nothing to do with municipal government. But if you did any work for a city or county that recieved federal pandemic relief, your name could appear in an audit. Not because your under investigation. Because an auditor doing routine work noticed something that didnt add up.

This is the nature of pandemic fraud investigations in 2025. The initial wave of obvious cases has been prosecuted. Now investigators are finding fraud through secondary channels – audits, bank reviews, preparer prosecutions, codefendant cooperation. The fraud that seemed hidden in 2020 is being exposed through routes nobody anticipated.

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve seen clients blindsided by referrals they never saw coming. A business partner who cooperated. An accountant who got investigated. A municipal audit that mentioned their company. The investigation started somewhere else and found its way to them.

What Indiana Sentences Actually Look Like in 2024-2025

Lets talk about real sentences. Not hypotheticals. Actual outcomes from Indiana federal courts in recent months.

Robert Hall (Bloomington) – 41 months federal prison. $668,746 fraud. The longest recent sentence in Indiana. Over $250,000 triggers serious prison time.

Kathelia Hopkins (Portage) – 21 months federal prison. $424,250 restitution. Filed dozens of fraudulent EIDL applications seeking $1.25 million. Volume multiplies exposure.

Brooke Bowie (Indianapolis) – 8 months federal prison. Lied about pending felony charges. Got prison specificaly for the lie about her criminal history.

Rakita Davis (Fort Wayne) – 24 months probation. $55,213.61 restitution. Former IRS employee with fake catering buisness.

D’Ericka Lee (Indianapolis) – 1 year probation. $10,000 restitution. Three fake businesses at residential addresses.

Ivory Hill (Fort Wayne) – 24 months probation. $23,332 restitution. Non-existent auto sales company.

Dashanae Hamlet-Davis (Fort Wayne) – 18 months probation. $23,431.53 restitution. Fake retail buisness.

Jade Price (Winfield) – 12 months probation. $80,355.18 restitution.

See the pattern? Under $100,000 with no aggravating factors: probation is still possible. Over $250,000: your looking at serious prison time. Multiple applications or additional lies: prison becomes more likley even at lower amounts.

The sentancing brackets are fairly predictable once you understand them. Under $50,000: usually probation. $50,000 to $250,000: 18-36 months depending on factors. Over $250,000: 36-120 months.

But heres what those brackets dont tell you: timing matters. The same $75,000 fraud that got probation in 2022 might get 18 months in 2025. Judges have hardened. The pandemic sympathy is gone. Early cases benifited from judicial understanding that people were desperate. Current cases face judges who have seen hundreds of defendants make the same excuses.

The Volume Problem: Why Multiple Applications Multiply Charges

Kathelia Hopkins didnt file one fraudulent application. She filed dozens. Seeking $1.25 million through the EIDL program.

Each application is a seperate potential count. Each count adds to the guidelines calculation. Volume dosent just increase the fraud amount – it multiplies the charges themselves.

This is how federal sentencing works. The base offense level comes from the fraud amount. But enhancements come from factors like “more than minimal planning,” “use of sophisticated means,” and “mass marketing.” Filing multiple applications checks several of these boxes.

Hopkins got 21 months. That might seem light for $1.25 million in attempted fraud. But consider the restitution: $424,250. Thats what was actualy obtained. And consider that every one of those applications is documented evidance of intent.

If you filed more then one PPP application – even for different buisnesses, even for legitimatley seperate entities – prosecutors can argue a pattern. If the applications contain similar misrepresentations, they can argue a scheme. If you used the same fabricated documents across multiple applications, they can argue sophistication.

The worst cases involve preparers who helped multiple clients. Those preparers kept records. When they get prosecuted, every client file becomes evidance. Your application, filed through a preparer who processed dozens of fraudulent loans, is sitting in a federal database connected to a known fraud operation.

Why Your Preparer Is Now Your Biggest Threat

Heres something Indianapolis business owners dont want to hear: the person who “helped” you with your PPP application is now the single biggest threat to your freedom.

Think about how this works. You hired someone who knew the system. Maybe an accountant. Maybe a consultant. Maybe someone a friend reccommended who had “gotten loans approved” for other people. They handled the paperwork. They told you what numbers to use. They submitted the application. You signed where they told you to sign.

That person kept records. Every client. Every application. Every conversation about what numbers to put on the form. Every email where you discussed the loan amount. Every text message where you asked about requirements.

When federal investigators arrest a preparer – and they are arresting preparers across the country – they dont just get one defendant. They get an entire client database. Every name. Every application. Every fraudulent document that preparer helped create.

Your preparer isnt your ally anymore. Your preparer is either already cooperating with investigators, or theyre about to start. Because heres the reality of federal prosecutions: the first person to cooperate gets the best deal. Your preparer knows this. Their attorney absolutley knows this.

The Blueacorn operation is the extreme example. That single company processed over 530 fraudulent PPP loans before it collapsed. One operation. 530 loans. Thats 530 potential defendants whose names and applications are sitting in federal databases. Nathan Reis, one of the founders, got 10 years in federal prison. Stephanie Hockridge, another founder, also got 10 years. And somewhere in DOJ files, there are 530 client records waiting to become prosecutions.

If you hired someone to prepare your PPP application, you need to assume that person’s records are either already in federal hands or will be eventually. The question isnt whether investigators know about you. The question is what your going to do about it before they contact you.

The Trial Penalty: Why Fighting Usually Makes It Worse

Most Indianapolis business owners have a fantasy about fighting the charges. Telling their story to a jury. Explaining that they were desperate in 2020, that everyone was applying, that they didnt fully understand the requirements.

Heres what actualy happens when you go to trial on PPP fraud charges: you lose.

Federal trials have conviction rates exceeding 90%. Prosecutors dont bring cases they arent certain to win. By the time your case goes to trial, theyve already reviewed every document, interviewed every witness, analyzed every bank record. They know exactly what your going to say in defense, and they have responses prepared.

When you go to trial and lose – which happens more then 90% of the time – you face maximum sentencing. No credit for acceptance of responsibility. No reduction for cooperation. No benefit from saving the goverment the cost of trial.

The cases in Indiana that got probation? Those defendants pleaded guilty. They accepted responsibility. They cooperated where it made sense to cooperate. They didnt force prosecutors to prove their case.

The Freitekh case in Charlotte – father and son who went to trial together on PPP fraud – shows what happens when you fight. Both convicted. Both got maximum exposure. Family loyalty didnt save them. It destroyed them both.

If the evidance against you is overwhelming, your goal isnt to beat the case. Your goal is to minimize the damage. That might mean early cooperation. That might mean negotiating a favorable plea. That might mean demonstrating genuine remorse before sentancing.

What it almost never means is going to trial.

When Spodek Law Group Takes Your Call

You call 212-300-5196. Someone answers. Not a receptionist. Someone who can actualy discuss your situation.

We understand that if your reading this, your probly terrified. Maybe you havent slept in weeks. Maybe you just learned that someone connected to your PPP application is under investigation. Maybe the FBI left a buisness card. Maybe you recieved a letter from the SBA asking for documentation you know you cant produce.

Heres what working with Spodek Law Group on an Indianapolis PPP fraud case actualy looks like:

First, we understand your specific situation. Not generalities. Your loan amount. Your application. Who prepared it. What address you listed. What representations you made. Who else was involved.

Second, we identify where you actualy stand. Is there an active investigation? Has anyone connected to your application been contacted? Are there cooperating witnesses? What physical evidance exists? How strong is the goverments case likely to be?

Third, we explore your options. Should you be proactive? Should you wait? Is cooperation the right strategy? Is there a legitimate defense based on your actual circumstances? What are the realistic outcomes given Indiana’s current sentancing patterns?

Fourth, we give you a clear picture of what your facing. Best case. Worst case. What factors influence where you fall on that spectrum. What you can do – right now – to improve your position.

This isnt about making promises we cant keep. Its about replacing panic with information. When you understand what your actualy facing, you can make rational decisions instead of freezing into inaction or making it worse.

Todd Spodek built Spodek Law Group on one principle: clients deserve the truth, even when its uncomfortable. Were not going to tell you everything will be fine if it wont. Were going to tell you exactly what we see and help you navigate it.

If your an Indianapolis business owner with questions about a PPP loan – whether thats a formal investigation or just growing anxiety about an application you submitted five years ago – call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. The cost of waiting isnt.

Indiana’s lenient era is ending. The judges who gave probation in 2022 are giving prison time in 2025. The window to position yourself favorably is closing.

The goverment has years to prosecute you. Your window to protect yourself is much shorter then you think.