Lake Worth Beach man accused of stealing millions in federal COVID-19 relief funds
FORT LAUDERDALE — A Lake Worth Beach man and his brother have been indicted on allegations that they fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in federal loans intended help small businesses survive shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investigators say Patrick Charles, 41, and his brother, Carl Henry Charles, 43, of Miramar received about $2.5 million in loans and advances through the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, Program. It was created in March 2020 as part of the CARES — Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security — Act approved by Congress.
The siblings made appearances Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Panayotta Augustin-Birch at the Fort Lauderdale courthouse. Each was granted a $250,000 bond and ordered to surrender their passports.
The court allowed each defendant to be represented by temporary counsel and scheduled an arraignment hearing for April 28. On Monday, the case was set for a May 22 trial date in Miami before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom.
Fort Lauderdale-based attorney Michael Weinstein is representing Patrick Charles. He said Monday that he is still reviewing the indictment and awaiting discovery documents.
"We're going to investigate the government's case and we will defend him accordingly," he said.
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According to an indictment unsealed Friday, the Charles brothers submitted applications from March 2020 through December 2021 to the Small Business Administration seeking nearly $5 million for businesses that did not exist before the start of the pandemic and that did not have any revenue or other business activity.
The indictment alleges that Patrick and Carl Henry Charles and unnamed accomplices opened and directed others to open bank accounts for the purpose of securing EIDL advances and loans. Carl Henry Charles and unspecified accomplices reportedly collected and used the personally identifiable information of others to submit fraudulent applications. The siblings then used the loans to enrich themselves and others, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Both face multiple counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Patrick Charles faces up to 60 years in prison and Carl Henry faces up 80 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Two South Florida men indicted on federal COVID-19 economic relief fraud
