Department of Justice authorities arrested a California man in connection with fraud. The man raised $3.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds for him while waiting for a new round of stimulus checks.
Lebnitz Tran, 40, of San Jose, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly submitting 27 fraudulent loan applications to the government’s Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and at least 7 fraudulent loan applications for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) .
Tran allegedly used false information and documents, including falsified employee information and tax documents, in an attempt to obtain more than $8 million in funding. According to reports, he received $3.6 million in illegal loan proceeds from the program. Press Releases.
In a federal grand jury indictment in San Francisco, Tran was accused of using the funds he obtained from the fraudulent scheme to buy $100,000 worth of Tesla vehicles in retail stores and restaurants and dealers.
The San Jose resident now faces six counts of wire fraud and three counts of bank fraud. He may face up to 30 years in prison for each charge of bank fraud, and up to 20 years in prison for each charge of wire fraud. NBC Bay Area.
When a fraud scheme involving relief funds emerges, the petition for regular monthly stimulus checks continues Growth momentum, Received 85,000 new signatures in the past week.
The petition was issued last year by Colorado restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin (Stephanie Bonin), demanding monthly payments of $2,000 for adults and $1,000 checks for family members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our country is still in deep trouble. The recovery has not benefited many Americans-the true unemployment rate of low-wage workers is estimated to exceed 20%, and many people have faced huge debts such as utility bills, rent and childcare since last year.” Change.org petition read.
“If certain trigger conditions are met, Congress needs to automatically conduct periodic inspections. There is no need to wait for our government to provide the help we need. Sign up to join our movement to give people regular inspections,” it added.
As of 8:28 pm EST on Sunday, the petition has received 2,574,723 signatures for the 3 million goal. If the goal is reached, it will become the most signed petition on the platform.
Photo: Jeff Fosco/Getty Images
