A federal grand jury in Houston returned a superseding indictment, which was unsealed today, charging four additional individuals for fraudulently obtaining and laundering millions of dollars in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In total, 15 individuals across two states have now been charged in the conspiracy.
According to court documents, 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 of the applicant businesses. In total, the defendants sought over $35 million in PPP loan funds and obtained approximately $18 million in PPP loan proceeds.
Source: Four Charged In $35 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme / Shore News Network