United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg has announced that Evan Graves, a 40-year-old resident of Alva, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to a $1.35 million COVID relief fraud scheme. Graves faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, with the sentencing date yet to be determined.
As part of his guilty plea, Graves has agreed to forfeit approximately $1,355,600 and six properties in Fort Myers that he had acquired or funded using the proceeds of his fraudulent activities.
Court documents and the plea agreement reveal that between June 20 and July 23, 2020, Graves electronically submitted 10 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of his various Fort Myers-based companies. In each application, Graves falsely represented his companies’ number of employees, gross revenues, and lost rental income due to the COVID-19 disaster to qualify for large loan amounts and advance funding.
The fraudulent representations led the SBA to approve Graves’s 10 loans, depositing approximately $1.35 million into bank accounts under his control. Subsequently, Graves misused the funds for personal purposes, including paying off credit card debt, funding personal investment accounts, satisfying mortgages, and purchasing real estate.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the United States Secret Service, with Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth prosecuting the case. Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky is handling the forfeiture proceedings.
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established by the Attorney General on May 17, 2021, played a crucial role in combating pandemic-related fraud. The task force collaborates with various government agencies to investigate and prosecute domestic and international criminal actors involved in fraud related to the pandemic.
Individuals with information about attempted COVID-19 fraud can report it by contacting the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline through the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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