A man from Leland, North Carolina, has been given a prison sentence of six months along with three years of probation for his involvement in fraudulent activities. The man was found guilty of applying for COVID relief funds on behalf of a fictitious trucking company. The federal authorities uncovered the fraud and sentenced the man for his involvement in the scam.
Joseph Alexander Casillas pleaded guilty on February 16 for wire fraud in relation to his involvement in seeking financial assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program. The program was designed to aid businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following his admission of guilt, Casillas was also ordered to pay a sum of $92,734 as restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina released a statement detailing how Joseph Alexander Casillas illegally applied for PPP loans during the months of March and April 2021. Under the PPP program, businesses could request forgivable loans to help them retain jobs and cover certain expenses. However, Casillas falsely applied for these loans, which led to his arrest and subsequent criminal charges.
To qualify for a PPP loan, a business had to submit relevant information to the Small Business Administration (SBA) concerning their operations and acknowledge the rules and regulations of the program. Additionally, the business had to provide documents to confirm their claimed payroll expenses. These requirements were put in place to ensure that the loans were only provided to eligible businesses, which were genuinely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the U.S. Attorney, Joseph Alexander Casillas submitted two PPP loan applications that were fraudulent and contained false information. Each application sought a sum of more than $20,000. In the loan applications, Casillas claimed to be the sole owner of an established trucking company, which had a payroll cost of almost $100,000 per year. However, this was untrue, and Casillas knowingly made false statements in his loan applications to obtain funds to which he was not entitled.
To support his false claims, Joseph Alexander Casillas provided a fake 2019 tax record to the lender. However, the U.S. Attorney revealed that the trucking company that Casillas claimed to be the owner of did not exist at all. Therefore, Casillas’ documents and claims were entirely fabricated to deceive the lender and fraudulently obtain PPP loans.
