Former Miami cop admits to milking a COVID-19 relief program out of more than $40,000
A former police officer with the city of Miami has admitted in federal court to milking a COVID-19 relief program for small businesses out of more than $40,000 while he was employed with the city.
Gregory Dennis, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Wednesday in connection with two fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans he submitted to a Small Business Administration (SBA)-approved lender in 2021, court records show. The Broward County resident is scheduled to be sentenced June 13.
As part of the deal, Dennis agreed to resign from the Miami Police Department, surrender his Florida Department of Law Enforcement certification and to never work as a police officer again. Miami police told the Miami Herald that Dennis worked for the department since 2013 and had been relieved of duty without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Dennis, who was charged in March, will also have to forfeit all property and items he bought with the fraudulent loans he received; it is unclear what the money was used for.
Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales, whose internal affairs department was involved in the investigation, said the department holds its employees to the highest standard.
“We will not tolerate any violations to state, local and federal laws,” Morales told the Herald via a spokesperson.
READ MORE: Miami police officer fraudulently acquired over $40,000 in COVID relief, authorities say
On March 28, 2021, Dennis submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application claiming to be the only owner of a cleaning service company and falsely representing his business’ 2020 gross income, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida said in a news release. As a result, investigators say Dennis received a loan of $20,833 from Harvest Small Business Finance, a California-based lender.
Dennis then submitted a second fraudulent PPP loan application on April 10, 2021, using the same false IRS form that he used to obtained the first loan. Dennis received an additional loan of $20,833 from the same California-based lender.
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The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force, which includes task force officers from the Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs Section, and SBA’s Office of Inspector General, investigated the case.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, federal prosecutors have filed about 150 PPP loan fraud cases in South Florida since Congress approved the CARES Act program in spring 2020 to help businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most have led to convictions with prison sentences ranging from a few months up to 10 years.
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South Florida is considered the top region for PPP loan fraud in the nation. Last fall, the Justice Department set up strike forces at U.S. attorney’s offices in South Florida, Baltimore and Southern California to target the proliferation of PPP loan scams in those areas as well as in other parts of the country.
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There are thousands of PPP loan fraud cases across the country, costing taxpayers billions of dollars in lost funds guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the CARES Act. The root of the problem, an SBA inspector general found, was the lack of controls over loan applications approved by banks under emergency economic conditions during the pandemic.
Miami Herald staff reporters Jay Weaver and Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.
