Palm Bay man gets 5 years' prison for over $1 million in COVID relief fraud; used money for personal investments
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U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway sentenced a Palm Bay man Tuesday to five years in federal prison for more than $1 million in COVID relief fraud and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office said.
Middle District of Florida in Orlando court documents show that from March 2020 through April 2021, Johnson W. Eustache submitted 13 different applications for more than $2.1 million in pandemic-related emergency benefits, according to William Daniels, a public affairs officer for the U.S. attorney's office.
Eustache submitted multiple types of applications, including for economic injury disaster loans and the paycheck protection program through the Small Business Administration and through loan servicers and lenders. While submitting these applications, Eustache used his own name and the names of relatives and associates and included false information about the applicant's life, according to the documents.
In each application, Eustache falsified information, such as how many employees worked at each business and amount of payroll, according to court documents.
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These "false, fraudulent and misleading representations" resulted in loans of $1,343,029.50 being approved for Eustache, Daniels said.
Despite promising to use the loans for payroll or other business expenses, he used the money to make personal investments, buy real estate and build residential properties.
Between 2017 and 2021, Eustache filed 28 returns for tax payers with false information while working as a tax return preparer, Daniels said. Eustache used these items to inflate the refunds taxpayers received. The total loss to the IRS was $87,044.
“Not only did Eustache fraudulently file tax returns on behalf of his clients through his tax preparation business, but he also stole vital PPP loan money intended to support struggling businesses during the COVID 19 pandemic,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne.
Investigators with the FBI said they're "taking tremendous investigative steps" to prevent people from profiting from the pandemic, Daniels said.
Eustache pled guilty on Aug. 3 and was sentenced Tuesday. He was also ordered to forfeit about $700,000, as well as properties in Palm Bay and Poinciana, which could be traced to the proceeds of the fraudulent applications.
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: COVID relief fraud gets Palm Bay man five years in federal prison
