A Florida man pleaded guilty this week to taking over $250,000 in COVID-19 loans for which he wasn't eligible.
Jewral McIntyre, 44, of Venice, Florida, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to participating in a conspiracy that fraudulently obtained more than $257,980 in Paycheck Protection Program loans.
“Fraud is never a victimless crime—McIntyre’s actions diverted critical resources from the small businesses and workers who needed it most,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “Our office remains committed to rooting out fraud, holding accountable those who exploit federal programs for personal gain, and safeguarding taxpayer funds.”
McIntyre pleaded guilty before Judge Rudolph Contreras to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Sentencing is pending.
According to court documents, McIntyre was the owner of Rat Pack Worldwide Security & Consulting, a security consulting business registered as a corporation in Florida. In January 2021, an individual asked if he wanted to apply for a PPP loan in the name of Rat Pack.
McIntyre agreed that the individual who had approached him would receive a portion of the PPP funds if the loan application was approved and funded.
At the individual’s request, a co-conspirator created a PPP loan application for Rat Pack containing materially false statements, claiming that Rat Pack had 18 employees and an average monthly payroll of $103,192.35. In fact, Rat Pack had no W2 employees, and its payroll was only a fraction of the amount claimed.
In addition, the co-conspirator created false and fraudulent supporting documents to submit with the loan application. Those documents included false financial payroll reports for 2020 and false Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Forms 941) for each quarter of 2020.
On March 12, 2021, the Small Business Administration and Capital Bank approved McIntyre’s fraudulent PPP loan application and deposited $257,980.87 into Rat Pack’s bank account.
Next, the co-conspirators prepared a loan forgiveness application for Rat Pack. It falsely claimed Rat Pack had 18 employees at the time McIntyre received the PPP loan. It also falsely claimed that, for the period of March 12, 2021, through May 14, 2021, Rat Pack spent the full amount of the loan, $257,980.87, on payroll costs. On Aug. 8, 2022, McIntyre e-signed and submitted the loan forgiveness application. As a result, Capital Bank and the SBA forgave Rat Pack’s PPP loan.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
Joining in the announcement were FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, D.C. Inspector General Daniel Lucas, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office.
This case was investigated jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI Washington Field Office, the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office. This matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Babu Kaza and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold.
