BOSTON – Four individuals, including one from Massachusetts, have been charged for their alleged involvement in a multi-state scheme to obtain millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for themselves and others by submitting fraudulent applications to PPP lenders.
According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Justice, the following individuals have been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud:
- Sniders Jean-Jacques, 38, of Miami;
- Lorne Johnson, 38, of Boston;
- Tanya Pierre, 28, of Miami; and
- Ashley Spike, 31, of Miramar, Fla.
Jean-Jacques and Pierre were arrested and appeared in federal court in Miami. Johnson was arrested and appeared in federal court in Boston. Spike was arrested and appeared in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The defendants will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the charging documents, Jean-Jacques, Johnson, Pierre and Spike allegedly submitted fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of borrowers and collected up to 30 percent of the loan proceeds as a fee for securing the loans. Beginning in March 2021, the defendants and others allegedly recruited borrowers who were ineligible for PPP loans, claimed the borrowers operated businesses that qualified them for loans and created fake tax forms to backstop the borrowers’ fraudulent applications. As a result, Jean-Jacques, Johnson, Pierre, Spike and others allegedly obtained approximately $7 million in PPP funds to which they and the borrowers were not entitled. The indictment also alleges that the borrowers who received PPP funds based on these fraudulent applications paid kickbacks to Jean-Jacques, Johnson, Pierre, Spike and others, commonly in an amount equal to 30 percent of the loan proceeds…