(The Center Square) – A real estate developer who was a part-time resident of Vancouver, Washington, received a federal prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining coronavirus pandemic relief program funds and laundering some of the proceeds while on supervised release for a previous fraud conviction.
Michael James DeFrees, 62, received a 21-month sentence and five years of supervised release. He must also forfeit $1.2 million and pay $1.3 million in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“Michael DeFrees’s crimes demonstrated his indifference to both the many businesses suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and American taxpayers who funded the relief programs created to alleviate these impacts. Prosecuting COVID-19 fraud remains a top priority for the Department of Justice and our partners,” Ethan Knight, Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said in a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Between April 2020 and April 2022, DeFrees used two separate business entities to get Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Paycheck Protection Program loans administered by the SBA under false pretenses. The EIDL and PPP programs let SBA provide low-interest loans to small businesses negatively impacted by the government response to the coronavirus pandemic.