Union County Man Sentenced For Wire Fraud, Money Laundering

WESTFIELD, NJ — A Westfield man was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced on Tuesday.

Joseph McKeon, aka "Jay McKeon," 54, of Westfield, previously pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2024, to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Judge Julien Xavier Neals imposed the sentence in Newark federal court. In addition to the prison term, McKeon was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $900,000 in restitution.

From February 2021 through February 2022, McKeon submitted fraudulent PPP loan and forgiveness applications for $900,000 on behalf of a New Jersey company he owned, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

McKeon also lied about the number of employees the business employed and the income the employees earned, according to authorities.

McKeon also reportedly submitted forged documents, including fake payroll information, bank statements, and tax return documents.

After the victim lender funded the loan, McKeon withdrew a significant amount of the loan proceeds as cash and made several large transfers between bank accounts, including one transfer for $315,504, which was sent to an Indiana title company, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can 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 justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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