A man from Baltimore is facing federal charges for allegedly submitting fraudulent relief loan applications and stealing the identity of a tax preparer.
Baltimore Man Indicted on Charges He Faked PPP Loan and EIDL Loan Application
The 37-year-old defendant, Dana Lamar Antonio Hayes Jr., is alleged to have submitted falsified tax documents, fraudulent economic disaster relief loan applications and CARES Act paycheck program protection loan applications on behalf of his recently revived company. The federal grand jury returned the indictment for the federal charges of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Unsealed Indictment Returned
The six-count indictment stated that between March 2020 and October 2021, Hayes submitted several fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Relief loan application (EIDL loan). He also submitted several Paycheck Protection Plan loan applications (PPP loans) to the Small Business Administration (SBA) and two financial institutions listed as unnamed banks.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron, along with Special Agents in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI and Darrell J. Waldon of the IRS.
Accused ‘Regularly Contacted the SBA’ for Loan Approval
A statement released by the Department of Justice went into further detail about the case, saying: “Specifically, the indictment alleges in March 2020, Hayes submitted a fraudulent EIDL loan application on behalf of his previously forfeited and recently revived company, D&L Investment Properties Inc. The EIDL loan application allegedly contained false statements regarding the number of employees and payroll expenses of D&L.
“On the basis of false and fraudulent information, the SBA approved Hayes’s EIDL application and provided Hayes loan funds on behalf of D&L. The indictment also alleges that Hayes claimed to have company expenses of $15,000 and equipment costs of $35,000 when the company had been inactive since 2019. Additionally, within the EIDL application, Hayes allegedly stated that he was not on probation at the time of the filing.
“As alleged in the indictment, after the SBA initially denied Hayes’ EIDL application, he allegedly regularly contacted the SBA to have his EIDL application approved. Once the application was approved and the funds were deposited into D&L’s bank account, Hayes allegedly transferred all of the loan proceeds from D&L’s bank account into his personal savings account.”
The statement also noted that the indictment alleges that Hayes used the name and Preparer Tax Identification number of an unnamed victim to submit fraudulent bank forms without the victim’s knowledge or consent. The victim had been previously hired by Hayes to prepare D&L and Hayes’ personal tax returns, but now claims that they never prepared certain forms for D&L at all. Federal records also indicate no such forms were ever filed.
Multiple Possible Sentences for Fraudster
Hayes faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in federal prison for the charge of wire fraud, plus ten years in federal prison for money laundering. If convicted, he will also incur a mandatory two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft, to be served before beginning any other sentence.
Federal crimes do not usually receive the maximum penalties, however, and the federal district court judge will use the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors to determine the actual sentence.
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I hope the government keeps going after all these fraudsters. Too many people took advantage of these programs when deserving businesses needed these dollars.