Manhattan man arrested in $5.8M plot to defraud Covid small-business loan program
A Manhattan man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly plotting to defraud a Covid-19 small-business loan program out of nearly $6 million.
Marcus Frazier, 47, of New York applied for $5.8 million in Covid-relief loans that were guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, and he was awarded nearly $2.2 million, prosecutors said.
Instead of using the money to assist his businesses, he allegedly used the funds instead on personal expenses, including stays at luxury hotels, air travel, restaurants and clothing, according to the government.
The government alleges that in order to obtain the loans, Frazier lied about the number of people he employed and filed fake bank statements.
"These fake bank statements included, among other things, fraudulent account statements for a checking account that showed balances far greater than the account actually held, and depicted payroll withdrawals that never occurred. Frazier also submitted lists of employees on the purported payrolls of the Frazier Companies, which included names and Social Security numbers that do not match the records of the Social Security Administration," the government said.
Frazier was charged on seven counts, with the most serious being bank fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to a bank. Each have a maximum sentence of 30 years in jail.
"These charges represent blatant falsehoods, fraud, and other criminal conduct that sought to take advantage of tax dollars meant to help the nation recover from the ongoing pandemic," said Patricia Tarasca, special agent in charge of the New York region office of the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in a statement.