Man Gets Prison Term For PPP Loan Fraud, Money Laundering, Drugs: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — Antrum Coston, 41, of New Haven was sentenced Monday in federal court to serve three years in prison for fraud, money laundering, and drug offenses, according to the Justice Department.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program.

According to U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, Vanessa Roberts Avery, court documents and statements made in court, in April 2021, Coston applied for and got two PPP loans, totaling $41,666, for a cleaning business he said he operated. Federal prosecutors said Coston made multiple false statements: that his business was established in 2018 when, in fact, no cleaning business associated with Coston had been formed in 2018; that the business had total gross income for 2019 of $114,658 when, in fact, the business had not earned such income; and Coston was incarcerated for all of 2019.

In February 2022, Coston sought forgiveness of both loans, falsely asserting in each instance that the funds had been spent on payroll costs, Avery said.

Meanwhile, on New Year's Eve in 2021, police tried to stop a car Coston was driving in West Haven and while initially stopping, Coston then drove off, nearly striking the officer as he fled, Avery said. He was found hiding in a parking lot a short distance away and, in a search of his vehicle and himself, cops found "distribution quantities" of heroin/fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine, and more than $2,000 in cash, Avery said. She added that a "related search" of Coston’s home found a ballistic vest, $2,790 in cash, a small quantity of crack, and narcotics paraphernalia.

On Dec. 20, 2022, Coston pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Coston, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on Nov. 29, the US Attorney said.

According to state and federal court records and the Justice Department, Coston’s criminal history includes multiple convictions, including two federal convictions.

• In 2004, Coston was convicted in federal court of possession of a firearm by a felon. He was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment for that offense.
• In June 2007, received an additional 18 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.
• In December 2017, Coston was sentenced to 40 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for gun and drug offenses. He was released from federal prison in April 2020, and was on supervised release when he committed the PPP loan fraud, money laundering and drug possession offenses.

This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the West Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Laraia.

Individuals with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.