14 Indian-origin enterprise house owners charged in a $53 million COVID reduction program-related fraud in USA

In Texas, United States, fourteen individuals have been charged in a $53 million fraud scheme involving a COVID-19 pandemic reduction program. The accused individuals are largely enterprise house owners of Indian origin. 

In a press launch issued on June 28, Leigha Simonton, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas stated that this case is the most important to be investigated by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force so far.

On June 27 and 28, particular brokers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Treasury Department’s Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) arrested the accused individuals in Texas, California, and Oklahoma.

“Defrauding the government is an affront to American taxpayers. Defrauding the government during a pandemic, when millions of hardworking entrepreneurs were struggling to make payroll and rent,” US Attorney Leigha Simonton stated.

Many of the charged accused allegedly operated an assortment of affiliated recycling firms, together with Mammoth Metal Recycling, Elephant Recycling, Gulf Coast Scrap, 4G Metals, 4G Plastics, 5G Metals, Level Eight, Sunshine Recycling, L.Ok. Industries, NTC Industries, West Texas Equipment, and West Texas Scrap, based on a collection of indictments unsealed on June 28.

They are accused of submitting not less than 29 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) mortgage functions that fraudulently inflated payroll bills by altering financial institution statements and Internal Revenue Service tax kinds to falsely replicate enterprise revenue. Subsequently, the accused routed PPP mortgage funds by way of a collection of financial institution accounts to generate faux paperwork of payroll bills. 

The press launch said that about two of the defendants are additionally accused of submitting false functions to monetary establishments on behalf of their alleged recycling firms to be able to fraudulently receive thousands and thousands of {dollars} in enterprise mortgage proceeds. One of the defendants, Bhavesh Patel alias Bobby Patel allegedly lied to the FDIC by claiming that he didn’t know a number of of his different alleged accomplices.

According to the stated press launch, Mihir Patel, Chief Financial Officer of Sunshine Recycling and proprietor of Mammoth Group, R.A. Industries, and L.Ok. Industries, is amongst these charged within the sixteen-count indictment with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud, and aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit cash laundering.

Kinjal Patel, Controller at Sunshine Recycling, was charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud with aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit cash laundering.

Prateek Desai, proprietor of West Texas Scrap, has been charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud, and aiding and abetting.

Wajahat Khan, aka Ray Khan, President and Owner of Gulf Coast Scrap, has been charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud with aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit cash laundering.

Imran Khan, alias Ron Khan, Operations Director and proprietor of 4G Metals and West Texas Equipment, was charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud, and aiding and abetting.

Chirag Gandhi, aka Chris Gandhi, Controller of NTC Industries and President and Owner of 5G Metals and Sunshine Recycling, has been charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud, and aiding and abetting.

Bhavesh Patel, alias Bobby Patel, Sunshine Recycling’s Chief Business Development Officer and proprietor of Level Eight, was charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud and aiding and abetting and making a false assertion to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Elephant Recycling Co-President and Co-Owner Dharmesh Patel, alias Danny Patel, has been charged with conspiring to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud, and aiding and abetting. Mitra Bhattarai, co-president and co-owner of Elephant Recycling has been charged with conspiring to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud, and aiding and abetting. NTC Industries worker Bhargav Bhatt, aka Brad Bhatt, is charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and conspiracy to commit cash laundering.

Mrunal Desai, financial institution fraud and aiding and abetting; Chintak Desai, President of Nanosoft Technologies, financial institution fraud and aiding and abetting; Ambreen Khan, wire fraud; and Usha Chapain, aka Usha Sharma, financial institution fraud, are amongst these charged in separate indictments.

If discovered responsible, these charged might should spend 30 years in federal jail for every rely of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, financial institution fraud and aiding and abetting financial institution fraud and making a false assertion to the FDIC, wire fraud, and cash laundering conspiracy.

Paycheck Protection Program

The Paycheck Protection Program, established by the CARES Act, is run by the Small Business Administration with help from the Treasury Department.  This programme supplies funds to small companies to cowl as much as 8 weeks of payroll prices, together with advantages. Funds can be used to pay mortgage, lease, and utility curiosity.