MA Man Accused Of Faking Death, Defrauding Paycheck Program

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Massachusetts man who was the first in the country charged with defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program was indicted by a federal grand jury in Providence.

David Adler Staveley, who also went by Kurt David Sanborn and David Sanborn, is accused of faking his own death after he was initially charged and arraigned earlier this year. The 53-year-old Andover resident was indicted on three counts of bank fraud and one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, false statements to influence the Small Business Administration, aggravated identity theft, and failure to appear in court as required, Rhode Island United States Attorney Aaron Weisman's office announced Thursday.

In May, Staveley and David Butziger, 52, of Warwick, were accused of defrauding the PPP, forgivable loans from the SBA under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Under a plea agreement, Butzinger agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Staveley and Butziger are accused of applying for PPP loans for dozens of employees at three restaurants and an electronics business. In reality, no employees were working for any of these businesses, according to Weisman. Staveley is also accused of pretending to be his brother during real estate transactions.

In the new indictment, Staveley is accused of violating the terms of his pretrial release following his arrest in May, traveling to Connecticut without court or probation approval, Weisman said. On May 11, he was ordered to home confinement with GPS monitoring. Following this, Staveley is accused of cutting off the device and leaving.

According to the indictment, Staveley then tried to fake his own death, staging a suicide by leaving notes with other people and in his car, which was left unlocked by the ocean, according to Weisman. From May 26 to July 23, he reportedly used fake identities and stolen license plates as he traveled from state to state, according to Weisman. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 23.