Prison For Sayreville Man Who Stole $481K In PPP Money

SAYREVILLE, NJ — A Sayreville man was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison for fraudulently receiving Payment Protection Program (PPP) funds and depositing a stolen and altered U.S. Treasury check, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig.

Bernard Lopez, 40, previously pleaded guilty to one count each of bank fraud and theft of government funds. He is from Sayreville but now lives in Atlanta, said a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney.

Special agents with the U.S. Treasury Department, Homeland Security and the FDIC investigated this case.

According to federal prosecutors, on June 24, 2020, Lopez submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application on behalf of Company-1, a business Lopez said he owned. Lopez’s PPP application falsely represented that Company-1 employed 25 employees, had a monthly payroll expense of approximately $192,000, and had mortgage/lease and utilities expenses.

Company-1 did not, in fact, employ any employees, nor did it incur payroll or utility expenses. It was a made-up company, said prosecutors.

But the lender approved Lopez’s PPP loan application and gave him $481,502 in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed small businesses.

Lopez then converted a portion of the proceeds for his own use.

Lopez also stole and altered a $211,886 check in PPP money and deposited it into a corporate bank account he created in the name of Pezlo Management LLC.

The check was altered to be made payable to Pezlo. Lopez later withdrew or transferred the stolen proceeds before the bank could detect the fraud.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Lopez to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $137,000 and forfeiture of $481,502.

The Small Business Administration oversees the Payroll Protection Plan tax dollars, which were designed to provide forgivable loans to small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Applicants for PPP loans applied directly to banks or financial institutions.

PPP loans were entirely forgiven if the recipient spent the loan proceeds on business-related expenses within a designated period after getting the money, such as keeping their employees employed during the government-led COVID shutdowns.

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