Former UND student accused of wire fraud in coronavirus funding case
Nov. 29—A student who previously attended UND has been accused of stealing more than $330,000 of federal Paycheck Protection Program loan funds.
According to an indictment filed in the U.S. district court for North Dakota, Enroy Oneil Duncan allegedly created a scheme to defraud the federal government by filing a false PPP loan application for his company called Homeinhome Senior Care LLC, which is based in Colorado.
According to the indictment, Duncan allegedly worked with an intermediary company to file the application. That company processed the application with a New York bank, which made the payment of $339,390 to a branch of Gate City Bank in Fargo, where Duncan apparently maintained personal and professional bank accounts.
The indictment indicates that Duncan claimed he had about 17 employees, with an average monthly payroll of $133,356.
The loan application revealed several inconsistencies. The application listed a Grand Forks address as Homeinhome's address, which was Duncan's residence. The company is not listed as being a registered business by the North Dakota Secretary of State, and records for the company could not be located by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
A search with Job Service of North Dakota did not reveal any records for the company's employer identification number. A search for a "national provider identifier" number also failed to reveal any records. The number is required for health care providers, as required by federal law.
Duncan is being charged with wire fraud. The indictment was filed on Oct. 20, and alleges Duncan perpetrated the fraud beginning around June 12, 2020, when he submitted a "false and misleading PPP application."
The indictment listed Duncan as previously living in Grand Forks and being a UND student. Duncan was arrested in Florida on Nov. 17.
PPP loans were created by the federal CARES Act in 2020. The loans are for businesses that were hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic. The loans can be forgiven, if the borrower spends the funds in an approved manner, such as for payroll or other business purposes.
