A Lexington man who secured lots of of hundreds of {dollars} in COVID-19 relief funds through false claims is headed to federal jail, after authorities mentioned he funneled a part of the cash into playing and different private bills.
John A. Hopkins, 48, was sentenced Tuesday to 24 months behind bars by U.S. District Decide Gregory Van Tatenhove in Frankfort. Hopkins previously admitted he took half in a fraud and cash laundering scheme involving federal pandemic reduction packages designed to maintain struggling small companies afloat.
According to prosecutors, the scheme stretched from April 2020 by October 2021. Throughout that interval, Hopkins filed a number of purposes for Financial Harm Catastrophe Loans and Paycheck Safety Program funds, packages created to stabilize companies rocked by shutdowns and financial uncertainty.
Authorities mentioned the paperwork he submitted was riddled with false statements. Functions had been filed beneath enterprise names linked to him, together with Blurock LLC and Hopkins Drywall. In these filings, he overstated revenues and misrepresented eligibility with the intention to qualify for bigger payouts.
Courtroom information present he submitted 10 fraudulent EIDL purposes, together with a request to extend a mortgage that had already been authorized and a separate false PPP software. In July 2020, one submitting inflated his revenue as a pastor over the earlier yr. That declare resulted in approval of a $44,000 EIDL mortgage and a $1,000 advance cost.
He later persuaded officers he was entitled to more cash, acquiring a $352,000 improve on an EIDL after falsely asserting to congressional employees that further funds had been owed to him. Prosecutors additionally mentioned he secured a $120,000 PPP mortgage for Blurock LLC utilizing additional misrepresentations.
How a Lexington man used COVID-19 reduction funds for playing
In whole, Hopkins sought practically $1.73 million in pandemic reduction funds and finally acquired about $517,000, in response to courtroom paperwork.
As a substitute of utilizing the cash to help respectable enterprise operations, prosecutors mentioned he diverted it to cowl private prices. Among the many expenditures had been lease debt funds, cryptocurrency investments, money presents to mates, and playing.
Federal legislation requires Hopkins to serve at the very least 85 % of his sentence. As soon as launched, he’ll spend three years beneath supervision by the U.S. Probation Workplace.
The investigation was led by the Treasury Inspector Common for Tax Administration and the Inside Income Service Legal Investigation division. Assistant U.S. Legal professional Kate Dieruf dealt with the prosecution.
Federal officers have repeatedly warned that pandemic reduction fraud stays a precedence. In 2021, the Division of Justice created the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Activity Pressure to coordinate nationwide efforts concentrating on abuse of reduction packages.
Authorities proceed to encourage ideas from the general public about suspected schemes involving COVID-19 funds, saying accountability stays a spotlight even because the pandemic packages wind down.
Featured picture: John A. Hopkins by way of Instagram
The put up Lexington man gets prison time in federal COVID-19 loan gambling fraud scheme appeared first on ReadWrite.
