ATLANTA, GA — An Atlanta man has been sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of stealing at least $3 million during a pandemic fraud scheme, prosecutors said Thursday.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg claimed 37-year-old Ian Patrick Jackson led a conspiracy that involved the recruitment of more than nine entrepreneurs and at least 15 fraudulent pandemic loans.
The business owners were accused of submitting fake Paycheck Protection Program loan applications to multiple banks, prosecutors said. The applications included falsified payroll information and fake IRS tax forms, they added.
When each business received $300,000 in PPP funds, prosecutors said the owners "wrote 'payroll' checks" to people who did not work for their companies. The owners then kept or split the money and gave a share to Jackson, prosecutors said.
Jackson was additionally accused of the following:
Prosecutors say Jackson then used the funding on personal purchases, such as restaurant dining, spa services, phone and credit card bills and a trip to Aruba.
Jackson pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering on June 30, prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross on Thursday sentenced Jackson to 10 years and 10 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
"Jackson recruited accomplices to manipulate pandemic relief programs, stealing more than $3 million earmarked for small business owners who suffered from the pandemic," Hertzberg said in a news release. "Through the persistent efforts of law enforcement, we will continue to hold accountable the fraudsters who exploited the COVID pandemic to steal from taxpayers."
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