Massachusetts PPP and EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek – with over 40 years of combined experience defending federal criminal cases across the country. If you’re facing a PPP or EIDL loan fraud investigation in Massachusetts, you’re dealing with serious federal charges. Prosecutors in the District of Massachusetts have been aggressive about pursuing pandemic loan fraud cases, and Massachusetts business owners are getting charged for conduct that ranges from deliberate fraud schemes to honest mistakes on confusing applications.

Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge – we’re seeing cases throughout Massachusetts. The exposure is significant: wire fraud carries 20 years in federal prison, bank fraud carries 30 years, and making false statements carries 5 years. Federal investigators aren’t just targeting obvious scammers – they’re scrutinizing legitimate business owners who inflated payroll numbers, who misunderstood eligibility requirements, who used funds in ways they thought were acceptable but technically weren’t.

Why Massachusetts Has So Many PPP Fraud Prosecutions

Massachusetts saw billions in PPP and EIDL loans distributed during the pandemic. Boston-area businesses, restaurants, healthcare providers, tech startups – thousands of companies applied for and received emergency funding. Now federal investigators are auditing those loans systematically, comparing applications against tax returns, matching claimed payroll against actual records, tracking where funds went by reviewing business bank accounts.

The District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has made PPP fraud a priority. They’ve prosecuted dozens of cases already and they’re not slowing down in 2025. What gets people charged? You claimed 30 employees when you actually had 22. You said your business was operational since 2019 when it didn’t start until 2020. You used EIDL funds to pay personal expenses instead of business expenses. You received multiple loans using related business entities without disclosing the connections. These are the actual allegations we see.

How Investigations Start

The SBA flags your loan for audit. Maybe there’s a discrepancy between your application and your forgiveness request. Maybe your loan amount seems disproportionate to your reported revenue. Maybe an algorithm identifies unusual patterns. Maybe someone tips off investigators – a disgruntled employee, a former business partner. That referral goes to the SBA Office of Inspector General, then to the FBI or IRS Criminal Investigation.

They spend months building their case before you know they’re investigating. They pull your complete loan file from the SBA. They subpoena your business bank records going back years. They review your tax returns. They interview your employees. They sometimes conduct surveillance on your business. They build a comprehensive timeline of where every dollar went and identify every discrepancy between what you claimed and what documentation shows.

By the time federal agents contact you – whether by phone call, home visit, grand jury subpoena, or target letter – they’ve already gathered extensive evidence and formed conclusions about your guilt. That’s why your initial response matters so much. Talking without a lawyer can turn a borderline case into a certain conviction.

The Charges and What They Mean

Wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 is the most common charge. If you submitted a loan application electronically and made false statements, that’s wire fraud. Maximum sentence: 20 years in federal prison. Bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 applies when you made false statements to obtain funds from a financial institution. Maximum sentence: 30 years. Making false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 covers lying to the federal government. Maximum sentence: 5 years.

Prosecutors often stack these charges. You might face wire fraud for the initial application, bank fraud for submitting it to the lender, and false statements for certifying the information was accurate. Each count carries separate penalties even though they all relate to the same conduct. This gives prosecutors enormous leverage during plea negotiations – agree to plead to one count and they’ll dismiss the others.

Sentencing in Massachusetts federal court follows the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Fraud offense levels are calculated based on loss amount. A $50,000 loan puts you at one level; a $500,000 loan puts you much higher. Then enhancements apply: sophisticated means, affecting a financial institution, being an organizer if others were involved. Your criminal history adjusts the guideline range.

Why Criminal Intent Matters for Your Defense

Federal fraud charges require proof of criminal intent. Prosecutors must prove you knowingly made false statements with intent to defraud. This intent element is where defenses get built. Did you genuinely misunderstand the application requirements? The PPP and EIDL programs were created quickly with confusing guidance that changed multiple times during 2020. Did you reasonably believe independent contractors counted toward your employee total? Did you think certain expenses qualified as covered uses when the rules were ambiguous?

Good faith mistake is a real defense. If your conduct resulted from honest misunderstanding rather than intentional deception, that negates criminal intent. We build this defense by documenting the confusion around program rules, showing you consulted with accountants or attorneys, demonstrating you relied on professional advice, proving you used funds for business purposes even if not technically covered under program requirements.

Reliance on professional advice is powerful in Massachusetts, where many business owners worked with CPAs and attorneys to prepare loan applications. If you provided accurate information to your advisor and relied on their calculations or interpretations, their errors don’t become your criminal liability. We gather all communications with advisors showing you sought guidance and relied on their expertise in good faith.

Massachusetts Federal Court Realities

The District of Massachusetts has courthouses in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Federal judges here have varied approaches to sentencing PPP fraud cases. Some are relatively lenient with first-time offenders who used funds partially for legitimate purposes. Others take pandemic fraud very seriously, viewing it as exploitation of a national emergency that harmed businesses that genuinely needed help.

What influences your sentence? The loan amount. How you actually used the funds – business expenses versus personal purchases. Whether you cooperated with investigators. Whether you accepted responsibility early or fought charges until trial. Your criminal history. How sophisticated the fraud was. Whether you have family responsibilities, health issues, community support. All of this gets argued at sentencing, and having a lawyer who knows how to present mitigating evidence effectively can mean the difference between probation and years in prison.

We’ve watched Massachusetts judges sentence PPP fraud defendants over the past two years. In Boston federal court, sentences have ranged from probation to significant prison time for similar conduct based on how cases were presented. Judges care about whether you’re truly remorseful, whether you’ve taken steps to make things right, whether you have strong community ties and employment history.

Cooperation Agreements in Massachusetts

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts often offer cooperation deals. You plead guilty and agree to provide information about other loan fraud schemes or participants. In exchange, the government files a motion for downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 or Rule 35(b), which can reduce your sentence below guideline ranges – sometimes substantially.

We’ve seen cooperation reduce sentences from years in prison to probation. But cooperation comes with risks. You’re admitting guilt to your own conduct. You’re potentially testifying against others, which has personal and safety implications. You’re spending time in proffer sessions with prosecutors detailing everything you know. And there’s no guarantee the sentence reduction will be worth it – that’s entirely discretionary with the prosecutor and judge.

Before agreeing to cooperate, your lawyer needs to negotiate the specific terms. What exactly do prosecutors want you to admit? What information do they want about others? What’s the realistic sentence benefit? What happens if your cooperation doesn’t provide as much value as they hoped? These details matter because once you’ve signed a cooperation agreement and made statements, you can’t retract them.

Why Spodek Law Group Handles Massachusetts Cases

We’re based in New York – just a few hours from Boston – but we handle federal criminal defense cases nationwide. Federal law applies the same way in Massachusetts as anywhere else: same criminal statutes, same sentencing guidelines, same procedural rules. What varies is local prosecutor culture, judicial temperament, and enforcement priorities. We adapt by researching recent Massachusetts case outcomes, understanding your specific judge’s sentencing history, and knowing what arguments resonate in the District of Massachusetts.

Todd Spodek is a second-generation lawyer who grew up working in his father’s law firm, watching court proceedings from childhood. He’s handled hundreds of federal cases – from high-profile matters featured on Netflix to complex white-collar prosecutions that never made headlines. Our team includes former federal prosecutors who understand how these investigations work, what evidence the government needs, and where weaknesses exist in their cases.

Our approach: get involved early, before charges if possible. We conduct our own investigation – gathering your business records, interviewing witnesses, analyzing your loan application and how funds were actually used. Sometimes we present evidence to prosecutors that convinces them not to file charges. Other times we negotiate favorable plea terms that minimize your exposure. And when necessary, we go to trial. We’ve taken on cases other firms said were unwinnable.

You can reach us anytime – we’re available 24/7 for consultations. Initial calls are risk-free with no time limits. We want you to understand your situation fully before deciding whether to hire us. We use a completely digital portal for all communications, documents, and billing so you can manage your case from anywhere in Massachusetts. And we work on transparent fee structures without surprises or hidden costs.

What You Must Do Right Now

Don’t talk to federal agents without a lawyer present. Even if you think you’re just clarifying misunderstandings or helping their investigation, everything you say gets documented and used against you. Agents are trained to ask questions that elicit admissions or create inconsistencies. Those inconsistencies become evidence of lying – which is itself a separate federal crime.

Don’t destroy documents or delete communications. That’s obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1519, carrying up to 20 years in federal prison. Even if an email or bank statement seems damaging, destroying it after you know there’s an investigation makes everything exponentially worse. Your lawyer can work with problematic documents; prosecutors use destroyed documents to prove consciousness of guilt and add new charges.

Don’t discuss your case with anyone except your attorney. Not your business partner. Not your spouse. Not your accountant. Federal investigators can subpoena all of them to testify about what you said. Only attorney-client communications are privileged.

Hire a federal criminal defense lawyer who handles white-collar cases, not a general practice attorney. PPP and EIDL fraud prosecutions involve complex financial documentation, sentencing guideline calculations, cooperation negotiations, and federal court procedure. You need someone who does this regularly.

Call us before this gets worse. Federal investigations don’t just disappear. They either result in declined prosecution – which requires your lawyer actively presenting your defense to prosecutors – or they result in indictment. Which outcome you get depends on having experienced representation from the moment you learn you’re under investigation. The earlier we get involved, the more options you have and the better outcome we can achieve.