A Marietta man was sentenced for his involvement in a scheme to steal Paycheck Protection Program funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
John Gaines, 59, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gaines was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $806,710. Gaines pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering in January.
Gaines worked with co-defendant Darrell Thomas and others to obtain a fraudulent PPP loan in the amount of $806,710 for a business called Gaines Reservation and Travel, which was found to have no employees or payroll expenses, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Gaines is one of three recently sentenced for the scheme, including 42-year-old Teldrin Foster of Atlanta and 56-year-old Carla Jackson of Tucker. To date, a total of 23 individuals have been convicted and sentenced in connection with the fraudulent scheme, according to the news release.