Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Lawyer for the District of Connecticut, Jean Pierre Njock, Appearing Particular Agent in Cost of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Joleen D. Simpson, Particular Agent in Cost of IRS Legal Investigation in New England, as we speak introduced that JOHN MATAVA, 58, of Coventry, has been charged by federal prison grievance with offenses associated to his receipt of COVID-19 reduction funds.
Matava was arrested on January 7, 2023. He appeared yesterday earlier than U.S. Justice of the Peace Choose Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and was launched on a $60,000 bond.
In March 2020, the Coronavirus Support, Reduction, and Financial Safety (CARES) Act offered emergency monetary help to People struggling the financial results attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. One supply of reduction offered by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small companies for job retention and sure different bills by way of the Paycheck Safety Program (PPP). In April 2020, Congress approved greater than $300 billion in extra PPP funding. The PPP allowed qualifying small companies and different organizations to obtain unsecured loans at an rate of interest of 1%. PPP mortgage proceeds had been for use by companies on payroll prices, curiosity on mortgages, hire and utilities. The PPP allowed the curiosity and principal to be forgiven if companies spent the proceeds on these bills inside a sure time frame of receipt and used no less than a sure proportion of the quantity to be forgiven for payroll.
The PPP was overseen by the Small Enterprise Administration, which has authority over all PPP loans. Particular person PPP loans, nonetheless, had been issued by non-public permitted lenders, resembling Celtic Financial institution, which acquired and processed PPP purposes and supporting documentation, after which made loans utilizing the lenders’ personal funds, which had been assured by the SBA.
As alleged within the prison grievance, in April 2020, Matava utilized to Celtic Financial institution for a $100,000 PPP mortgage for J.M. Builders LLC. The appliance submission included a number of false representations, together with that J.M. Builders LLC had eight workers and a median month-to-month payroll of $40,000; that the monies can be used for payroll, lease, mortgage, curiosity and utilities; and that the enterprise proprietor was not topic to pending formal prison expenses. On the time of the PPP mortgage software, there have been no data of payroll or workers with the Connecticut Division of Labor for J.M. Builders LLC, and Matava was topic to prison expenses in two pending instances associated to arrests in 2017 and 2018.
It’s alleged that on April 22, 2020, Celtic Financial institution disbursed $100,000 to a checking account for J.M. Builders LLC on which Matava was the signatory. The account was opened on April 21, 2020, and had a steadiness of $0 instantly previous to the mortgage funds being disbursed. Between April 2020 and January 2021, Matava used the funds primarily for private expenditures, together with $3,498 to pay a canine breeder, $4,777 for funds to an RV superstore in Connecticut, and authorized charges, together with a $2,000 retainer, for 4 courtroom instances in Rockville, Connecticut.
It’s additional alleged that in January 2021, Matava sought $100,000 in extra PPP funds from Celtic Financial institution, and included with the applying a number of extra false statements and fraudulent tax paperwork. Celtic Financial institution denied the applying.
The grievance expenses Matava with wire fraud affecting a monetary establishment, which carries a most time period of imprisonment of 30 years, and with making an unlawful financial transaction, which carries a most time period of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Lawyer Avery careworn {that a} grievance is just a cost and isn’t proof of guilt. Fees are solely allegations and a defendant is presumed harmless until and till confirmed responsible past an affordable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inside Income Service – Legal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Lawyer Christopher W. Schmeisser.
People with details about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are inspired to report it by calling the Division of Justice’s Nationwide Middle for Catastrophe Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or by way of the NCDF Internet Grievance Kind at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
