Stoughton man sentenced for Paycheck Protection Program bank fraud conspiracy
BOSTON – A Stoughton man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday after he admitted he fraudulently obtained COVID-19-related small-business loans, the U.S attorney's office said.
Yves Montima, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to three years of supervised release, with the first 10 months to be served in home confinement. Montima was also ordered to pay $239,595 in restitution.
In November 2021, Montima pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
He participated in a scheme that obtained more than $220,000 through fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications submitted between April 2020 and April 2021, prosecutors said in a news release.
Montima and his co-conspirator submitted 12 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, both in their own names and in the names of others, at several financial institutions. Montima and his co-conspirator also received kickback payments from people on whose behalf they submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications.
Under the Paycheck Protection Program, independent contractors were eligible to apply for loans, which were processed by private financial institutions and fully guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. If an independent contractor used the loan money for approved purposes, such as payroll, the loan could be forgiven by the financial institution and paid for by the federal agency.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Stoughton man sentenced for federal bank fraud conspiracy
