Man Pleads Guilty To PPP Fraud, Money Laundering, Drug Crimes: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT —Antrum Coston, 40, of New Haven admitted he filed for $41,000 in PPP loan forgiveness on a $115K cleaning business he claimed he ran from prison, according to the Justice Department.

Coston, who waived his right to be indicted, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to fraud, money laundering and drug offenses, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

The case against him was related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) 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.

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. Released pending sentencing, Coston, faces up to a maximum of 50 years for all charges when he's sentenced March 15.

According to Avery, court documents and statements made in court, in April 2021, Coston applied for and received two PPP loans, totaling $41,666, "purportedly in relation to a cleaning business he operated."

On the loan applications, Coston "made multiple false statements," including that his business was established in 2018 when, in fact, no cleaning business associated with Coston had been formed then, Avery said. He said 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, Avery said. In February 2022, Coston sought forgiveness of both loans, "falsely asserting in each instance that the funds had been spent on payroll costs," the federal prosecutor said.

On Dec. 31, 2021, when police stopped a car Coston was driving in West Haven, after initially stopping, Coston drove off, nearly striking the officer as he fled, Avery said. He would be found hiding in a parking lot a short distance away, she said, and a search found "distribution quantities of heroin/fentanyl, cocaine and crack cocaine, and more than $2,000 in cash," on him and in the car. A search of his home found a bullet-proof vest, $2,790 in cash, a small quantity of crack, and narcotics paraphernalia, per Avery.

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, prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment for that offense, and, 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 has been 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 is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Laraia.