Former Maryland social media influencer sentenced for obtaining $1.2M in CARES Act loans
GREENBELT, Md. (DC News Now) — A social media influencer from Maryland was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in federal prison for wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering.
He pled guilty to the charges on May 31, 2023.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that 32-year-old Denish Sahadevan, also known as “Danny Devan,” of Potomac, Md. schemed to defraud lenders and the Small Business Administration of over $1.2 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
These loans were part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relieve and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided emergency financial assistance to those suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in March 2020, Sahadevan submitted EIDL and PPP applications on behalf of four Maryland entities he controlled, often fabricating tax forms and bank statements in the applications. He also used the information of a tax preparer that he knew – without that person’s knowledge – to legitimize the fabricated tax forms he submitted.
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He admitted that he used his Rockville home to create the documents and apply for the loans. He applied for about 61 PPP loans, totaling about $941,794.75, and obtained $146,000 in benefits. He also applied for and received eight EIDLs, totaling $283,000.
Sahadevan induced his father to co-sign for the EIDL loans, then forged his father’s signature on the loan application. His father “would not have agreed to sponsor the loan had he known of its fraudulent nature and contents,” stated a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sahadevan deposited the proceeds into bank accounts, then laundered the funds by purchasing and trading securities and cryptocurrency, settling debts and making payments to his girlfriend.
Between Dec. 16, 2021, and Jan. 10, 2022, he applied to a financial institution for a loan of nearly $1.5 million to purchase a property in Potomac, Md. In the application, he did not disclose the $283,900 he owed to the U.S. for the EIDL benefits.
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On Feb. 24, 2023, law enforcement searched his home and found multiple electronic devices, a can with 18 driver’s licenses, what appeared to be a gold physical Bitcoin in a black case and about $17,043 in cash.
In addition to his three-year prison sentence, Sahadevan was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit the cash and Bitcoin seized during the search of his home, and pay restitution and a forfeiture money judgment of at least $429,906
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