WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2021) An unsealed indictment charges four additional defendants for fraudulently obtaining and laundering millions of Dollars in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the US Small business Administration (SBA), the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
"Hamza Abbas, 29, Khalid Abbas, 55, Abdul Fatani, 55, all of Richmond, Texas; and Syed Ali, 53, of Sugar Land, Texas, conspired with others to submit more than 80 false and fraudulent PPP loan applications by falsifying the number of employees and the average monthly payroll expenses," the department said in a press release.
In total, 15 individuals across two states have now been charged in the conspiracy, the release said.
The defendants sought over $35 million in PPP loan funds and obtained approximately $18 million in PPP loan proceeds, the release added.
The superseding indictment unsealed on Wednesday further alleges that the defendants laundered a portion of the fraudulent loan proceeds by writing checks from companies that received PPP loans to fake employees, according to the release.
