Charge: Kentucky man filed false application for coronavirus relief money
A Kentucky man filed a false application to get nearly $100,000 in federal coronavirus relief money, a federal grand jury has charged.
The grand jury indicted Khaldon T. Esawai, of Boone County, Thursday on a charge of wire fraud punishable by up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
Esawai, also known as Esawi, filed an application for a $94,900 loan in August 2020 through a program designed to help small businesses hurt by a downturn in sales caused by the novel coronavirus, according to the indictment.
Esawai said in the application that the business, Jericho Delights LLC, had 14 employees, when in fact it had none, the indictment said.
Esawai allegedly also claimed the business had gross revenue of $352,700 in the 12 months before the pandemic hit, but it actually had no revenue.
The business address Esawai used in the application is an empty lot in Cincinnati, the indictment charged.
Esawai is charged with wire fraud because he filed the application electronically.
There have been numerous allegations of fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic across the country since Congress approved aid totaling more than $2 billion in March 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
A year later, the U.S. Department of Justice said it had filed criminal charges against 474 people who allegedly took part in fraud connected to the pandemic. Those cases involved attempts to obtain more than $569 million from the federal government or individuals, the department said.
“We will not allow American citizens or the critical benefits programs that have been created to assist them to be preyed upon by those seeking to take advantage of this national emergency,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton said in the release.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 11:30 AM.
