FIRST ON FOX: A man who used government loans meant to provide financial relief to small businesses pleaded guilty to defrauding taxpayers of more than $1 million for a company he claimed operated an amateur basketball league, authorities said.
Jamar Johnson, a U.S. citizen, entered his plea on Monday for his role in a scheme that netted him $1,047,824 in taxpayer funds through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
“Jamar J. Johnson exploited a critical pandemic relief program for personal gain, stealing more than $1 million meant to support American small businesses when they needed it most,” said acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
“This guilty plea sends a clear message: Those who defraud the American people and attempt to hide their crimes will be identified, investigated and held accountable. DHS remains committed to protecting taxpayer-funded programs and ensuring justice for those who abuse them.”
TRUMP ADMIN SAVES TAXPAYERS $1 BILLION IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN OF STUDENT AID PROGRAMS
In 2020, Johnson submitted a PPP loan application for a company he said ran an amateur league. However, once the funds were disbursed, Johnson used the money to fund his lifestyle, including purchasing cryptocurrency and transferring the funds to foreign markets in an effort to conceal the illicit proceeds.
In addition to depriving the government, the scam also hurt small businesses that needed access to government funds to avoid shutting their doors and laying off employees at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, DHS said.
“Fraud of this nature weakens the effectiveness of federal assistance programs and places an additional burden on taxpayers who ultimately bear the cost of these crimes,” the department said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which operates under DHS, has authority over certain financial crimes and was involved in the investigation that ultimately led to Johnson’s guilty plea.
The federal government has cracked down on the massive scale of fraud stemming from the PPP loans.
The plea announcement comes as the U.S. Small Business Administration on Friday separately referred 562,000 suspected fraudulent loans totaling over $22.2 billion to the U.S. Department of Treasury for collections.
“After extensive review, and with the strong support of the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force, we are taking our most decisive action yet to end a Biden-era scheme that protected over 560,000 borrowers tied to more than $22 billion in suspected pandemic-era fraud,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler told Fox News Digital.
The SBA accused former President Joe Biden of deliberately protecting suspected fraudsters by refusing to refer them to the Treasury.
In February, the SBA suspended more than 111,000 California borrowers after uncovering $8.6 billion in suspected fraudulent activity linked to the pandemic. In total, the agency suspended 111,620 California borrowers who received 118,489 PPP and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans, totaling $8.6 billion.
“This staggering number represents the most significant crackdown on those who defrauded pandemic programs, and it illuminates the scale of corruption that the Biden administration tolerated for years,” Loeffler said at the time.
