Greedy Indian Found Guilty Of $8 Million Fraud in US

On the face of it, a name like Abhishek Krishnan, 40, living in Wake County, North Carolina, looks extremely normal. However, when one gets to know his story, it is hard to believe that someone with such a simple identity could defraud the federal government of $8 million through the COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.

The said man fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to US officials, Krishnan returned to India and allegedly submitted numerous PPP loan applications to federally insured banks. That also included false statements about companies’ employees and payroll expenses as well as falsified tax filings.

Krishnan also used the name of another person without his knowledge and amassed at least $8.2 million and received more than $3.3 million in loan proceeds. Krishnan is charged with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If proven, Krishnan will be spending 20 years in prison and a mandatory 2 years on each count of aggravated identity theft.