An active-duty U.S. Army soldier lied about earning $100,000 from pie sales to steal thousands in COVID-19 relief loans meant to support small businesses during the pandemic, federal prosecutors said.
The soldier stationed at Fort Gregg-Adams in Virginia said he earned the income in 2020 by selling his grandmother's pies through a business called "Granny's Delight" when he wrongly applied for two COVID-19 related loans, according to prosecutors.
The loans were issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, which was created toward the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time of the alleged fraud, the soldier held the rank of sergeant first class and was in charge of enforcing the Army's honor code and standards of conduct at the military base previously known as Fort Lee in Prince George County, about a 25-mile drive southeast from Richmond, prosecutors said.
The man sent a fake IRS tax return form -- in which he mentioned his purported pie sales income -- to the Small Business Administration along with his PPP loan applications, according to prosecutors. He never submitted this fake tax return to the IRS, prosecutors said.
His scheme resulted in him wrongly receiving more than $41,000 in PPP loans, prosecutors said.
Then he went shopping and spent some of the money at Victoria's Secret, Sunglass Hut, the Virginia ABC store and Reeds Jewelers, prosecutors said.
The man is one of three active duty soldiers accused of defrauding the Small Business Administration while stationed at Fort Gregg-Adams, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A federal jury indicted the 42-year-old on Dec. 3 in connection with receiving the "fraudulent" loans, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced in a news release.
He's charged with two counts of making false statements and six counts of wire fraud, his indictment shows.
Information regarding his legal representation wasn't listed in court records as of Dec. 4.
Prosecutors said the man also spent the COVID-19 loans he received at the Fort Gregg-Adams Golf Course and the Ace Adventure Resort in West Virginia -- and withdrew hundreds of dollars at the MGM Casino in National Harbor, Maryland.
2 Soldiers Plead Guilty
A U.S. Army major and another sergeant stationed at Fort Gregg-Adams lied about having jobs outside their military careers -- and about each earning more than $100,000 yearly from the jobs, prosecutors said.
Similar to the other sergeant, both of these soldiers submitted fake IRS tax returns to the Small Business Administration to support their claims when they applied for PPP loans in 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Then they were both issued more than $20,000 in PPP loans that they didn't deserve, prosecutors said.
Attorneys separately representing them didn't immediately respond to McClatchy News' requests for comment on Dec. 4.
The 42-year-old Army major pleaded guilty on Dec. 3 in connection with defrauding the Small Business Administration, prosecutors said.
On Nov. 5, the 30-year-old sergeant also pleaded guilty to obtaining a fraudulent PPP loan, according to prosecutors.
The major's sentencing is set for March 25, and the sergeant's sentencing is scheduled for March 20, prosecutors said.
They're both facing up to five years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
If the other sergeant is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
"Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
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