Decatur Man Sentenced To Prison For $160K Fraudulent Loan

DECATUR, GA — A Decatur man was sentenced to serve two years after obtaining a $160,000 fraudulent loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), a portion of which he then used to purchase a Range Rover, according to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Brandon Ridge, 37, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to serve two years, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also forfeit his interest in the Range Rover and over $100,000 was seized from his bank accounts, according to a news release.

Ridge previously entered a plea of guilty to bank fraud. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit his interest in the Range Rover as well as over $100,000 seized from his bank accounts.

Ridge submitted two false PPP loan applications for his business, “Barking Rose Solutions,” requesting loan amounts totaling $449,917.50. The applications contained materially false information, including fabricated banking statements that inflated the company’s deposits and expenditures to make it appear that the company qualified for PPP relief. One of these loan applications was accepted and the defendant received $162,467.50 in fraudulent loan proceeds. The defendant then used the proceeds for his own personal benefit, which included purchasing a Range Rover.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.