CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced August 22 that a California man pleaded guilty to defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA) of $15.9 million in COVID relief loans.
From April 2020 to April 2022, Emanuel Tucker, 45, of Canyon Lake, and others filed dozens of fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications for his companies.
These applications included false claims about employees, payroll, revenue, costs, and supporting documents.
He spent the funds on luxury cars, multi-million-dollar homes, and jewelry, including a $63,000 ring and $400,000 necklace.
“The defendant’s egregious scheme relied on layers of deception to steal taxpayer money to buy himself luxury vehicles, residential properties, and jewelry. The Criminal Division remains dedicated to holding fraudsters who steal from the public fisc [the public treasury] to account for their greed,” said DOJ acting assistant attorney general Matthew R. Galeotti of the Criminal Division.
Tucker faces up to 20 years in prison
Tucker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecutes PPP fraud and has charged over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases. It has seized over $78 million in cash, plus real estate and luxury items purchased with the fraudulently obtained PPP funds.
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