Find Corporate Waste

Category: EIDL Loans

  • Delco Woman Pleads Guilty in $7.17M EIDL Fraud-Proceeds Laundering Scheme

    Delco Woman Pleads Guilty in $7.17M EIDL Fraud-Proceeds Laundering Scheme

    A Pennsylvania woman pleaded guilty in a money laundering conspiracy tied to more than $7.17 million in fraud proceeds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

    Christina Williams, 31, of Drexel Hill, admitted to conspiring to launder fraud proceeds with her mother, Rosemarie Dixon, and others. The case was also highlighted by the SBA Office of Inspector General.

    Prosecutors said Williams Royal Real Estate LLC and Dixon Delish Kitchen LLC were sham businesses with no real operations or employees. Bank accounts opened in those names allegedly received proceeds from fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications and business email compromise schemes.

    The government says the funds were quickly moved between business accounts, personal accounts, and other sham-business accounts controlled by participants in the conspiracy. Prosecutors placed the total amount laundered, attempted to be laundered, or agreed to be laundered at $7,171,730.

    Williams and Dixon are scheduled to be sentenced on September 9. Each faces up to 20 years in prison.

    For Find Corporate Waste, the case underscores a recurring pandemic-fraud lesson: the paper trail does not stop at the false application. It often runs through shell entities, bank accounts, insider permissions, and rapid money movement.

  • Georgia Man Gets 37 Months in $441K COVID Relief Fraud Case

    Georgia Man Gets 37 Months in $441K COVID Relief Fraud Case

    Brian Graham, 49, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a COVID-relief scheme involving the PPP and EIDL programs.

    According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, Graham prepared and submitted fraudulent loan applications between April 2020 and August 2021 for several business entities he controlled. Prosecutors said the applications misstated employee counts, gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and payroll.

    The court ordered Graham to pay $441,546 in restitution, serve three years of supervised release, and forfeit proceeds tied to the offense. The SBA also highlighted the sentence.

    The critical allegation was not just bad paperwork. Graham certified that the information was accurate and that the funds would be used for payroll and other approved business expenses. Prosecutors said he instead used the bulk of the money for himself.

    The case, United States v. Graham, 1:25-cr-00079-JLK, was investigated by TIGTA and the SBA Office of Inspector General.

    Brian Graham allegedly used his role as a notary to defraud the American taxpayer.

    For Find Corporate Waste, the Graham case is a reminder that pandemic fraud often hides in plain sight: controlled entities, inflated numbers, false certifications, and taxpayer-backed money converted into personal gain.

  • California Medical Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $1M in Pandemic Relief Funds

    California Medical Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $1M in Pandemic Relief Funds

    A California medical business owner has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1 million from federal pandemic relief programs.

    According to the DOJ, Mehrdad Tabrizi owned Life Fleet Inc. and Resonante Group, two Orange County medical businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he used those companies to submit fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds.  

    The DOJ said Tabrizi falsely claimed Life Fleet was operating and had employees who received wages in 2019 and 2020. In reality, the company had been shuttered in 2018 and was no longer operational. Those false PPP applications caused approximately $696,565 to be disbursed into bank accounts he controlled.  

    Tabrizi also submitted fraudulent EIDL applications claiming Life Fleet and Resonante Group had revenue and business expenses before January 2020. Those applications brought in another $319,800, even though neither company was entitled to the money. The DOJ also said he withdrew $60,000 of the fraud proceeds to help buy a 2019 Porsche Turbo Cabriolet.  

    He pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2026.

    For Find Corporate Waste, this case shows why pandemic relief fraud remains a major public-accountability issue. Relief programs moved quickly, but speed created opportunities for false certifications, inactive companies, inflated payroll claims, and misuse of taxpayer funds. FCW will continue tracking pandemic relief cases, False Claims Act recoveries, and public-record signals that expose waste, fraud, and abuse.