The 57 charges involve $175 million allegedly stolen from the small-business loan program. Defendants are accused of lying on their applications and using funds to buy cars, jewelry and other luxury items.
The Justice Department alleges that the bankers worked with “higher-ranking bank officials” at Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago to falsify records and hide funds prior to the bank's December 2017 collapse.
Anita Gail Moody, who was president of Enloe State Bank, admitted to creating phony loan documents — and setting a fire to destroy them — before the bank was shuttered in May 2019.
Prosecutors charge two Rhode Island men with trying to rip off the program; the bank says it has received “inquiries” from state and federal officials on its offering of small business loans.
The Justice Department has begun a preliminary inquiry into how taxpayer money was lent out under the Paycheck Protection Program and has already found possible fraud among businesses seeking relief, a top official said.
The chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters, contends that Tim Sloan knowingly made misleading and inaccurate comments during a hearing before her panel last year.
The company disclosed that an internal review of a now-discontinued loan program found that employees engaged in misconduct tied to income verification and requirements, among other things.
