A California man pleaded guilty for defrauding the Small Business Administration out of $15.9 million in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.
Court documents say from April 2020 to April 2022, Emanuel Tucker, 45, of Canyon Lake, California, and others submitted several dozen fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications on behalf of various companies that he owned and controlled.
Tucker lied on the application about the number of employees, average monthly payroll, gross revenue, cost of goods, and supporting documents.
He spent money meant for desperate business owners on luxury items, such as a Cadillac Escalade, a Bently Continental, and a Ferrari F8 Tributo, multiple million-dollar houses, and various jewelry, including a $63,000 diamond ring and a $400,000 diamond necklace.
“The defendant orchestrated a scheme where he worked with purported business owners to submit dozens of loan applications to steal millions of dollars of Covid-19 relief funds,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Tucker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Tucker faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.
“The defendant’s egregious scheme relied on layers of deception to steal taxpayer money to buy himself luxury vehicles, residential properties, and jewelry. The Criminal Division remains dedicated to holding fraudsters who steal from the public fisc to account for their greed.”
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“The defendant in this case fraudulently obtained $15.9 million from federal funding programs intended to provide government relief to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and instead diverted vital relief funds for his own personal benefit,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office. “IRS-CI is proud to partner with our federal law enforcement organizations to investigate and ensure relief funds are spent in accordance with their original intended purposes."
The IRS-CI, FBI, SBA-OIG, FDIC OIG, Federal Reserve Board Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Office of Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and Department of Energy Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
“Exploiting pandemic relief meant for struggling Americans is not only morally reprehensible, it’s a betrayal of public trust,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “This defendant orchestrated a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, weaponizing federal COVID-19 assistance programs for his personal gain. The FBI will always work to make sure those who steal from programs designed to help others are held accountable.”
Tucker allegedly submitted dozens of fake loan applications to various government entities to take taxpayer money.
Trial Attorneys Siji Moore and Kashan Pathan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
“Providing false information to gain access to SBA programs intended for disaster victims is unacceptable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Huang of the Small Business Association Office of Inspector General’s Western Region. “OIG is focused on rooting out bad actors in these vital SBA programs. I want to thank the Department of Justice, and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP.
Since 2021, the fraud section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.
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