USA News

Indian-Americans Charged In $53 Million Fraud

Fourteen individuals, including Indian-origin business owners and employees, have been charged in a $53 million fraud scheme related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in Texas.

The PPP, an $800 billion emergency loan program created in March 2020 as part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, provided forgivable loans to help businesses maintain payrolls, hire back laid-off employees, and cover overhead costs. The easy application process effectively invited business owners to apply for the money.

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In 2021, Dinesh Sah, 55, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after applying for a $24.8 million PPP loan and receiving over $17 million. Prosecutors said Sah used the money to buy homes in Texas, pay off mortgages on his homes in California, and purchase a Bentley convertible, a Corvette Stingray, and a Porsche Macan. He was forced to pay nearly $17.3 million in restitution and forfeit eight homes, six cars, and more than $9 million.

The Small Business Administration estimated that over $200 billion was disbursed in potentially fraudulent loans, about 17% of the overall $1.2 trillion handed out under the programs.

The Office of the Inspector General has seized or retrieved about $30 billion of the fraudulent loans, and investigations have resulted in 1,011 indictments, 803 arrests, and 529 convictions through May.

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Saumya

Saumya is a passionate Telugu movie addict and an avid binge watcher of OTT platforms, covering Travel, Bollywood, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and international cinema. With a decade of experience at M9 News, Saumya br…

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