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| Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves |
A New Hampshire man, who claimed he owned trucking and agriculture businesses, admitted that he conspired with others to fraudulently obtain nearly $320,000 in funds through two emergency relief programs that were designed to help small businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Jan. 8, Chief Judge Lance E. Walker ordered Tyree Jones, 32, of Plymouth, New Hampshire, to pay nearly $52,000 in restitution. Jones pleaded guilty in November 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Victim impact statements are due by Feb. 5.
According to court documents, Jones submitted fraudulent and forged documents to receive three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans, amounting to around $52,000, through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
On the PPP applications, Jones claimed to have been the sole owner of a purported trucking company, listing his gross annual income as approximately $109,213 and his payroll as nearly $21,000 on both PPP loan applications filed in April 2021.
In June 2020, Jones, who claimed that he was a sole owner of an agriculture business and employed 12 people, received a $10,000 EIDL advance from SBA that applicants didn’t need to repay.
“In addition to filing fraudulent applications for himself, Jones offered to help others obtain PPP and EIDL funds in exchange for ‘kickbacks’ from any funds they received,” the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Maine said in a statement.
Prosecutors say the fraudulent loans and kickbacks totaled nearly $320,000. --->READ MORE HERE
A Plymouth man will spend two years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in efforts to fraudulently obtain nearly $360,000 in funds from COVID relief programs, federal prosecutors said.
Tyree Jones, 33, pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to conspiring with others to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic by submitting fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine.
He was also ordered to pay $359,274 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Prosecutors claim Jones submitted three fraudulent applications for himself and obtained $51,666.
On his applications, Jones claimed to be the sole owner of trucking and agricultural businesses that didn’t actually exist. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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