A group of 14 individuals, including Indian-origin business owners, have been charged in a $53 million fraud case involving a COVID-19 relief program in Texas.
A vial of Biontech-Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine against COVID-19 and syringes are seen during vaccination at the Institute for Health and Food Safety of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo(REUTERS)
A group of around 14 individuals, including several Indian-origin business owners and employees, have been charged in a massive fraud scheme involving a COVID-19 pandemic relief program in the state of Texas, United States.
The case, considered the largest investigated by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force thus far, has led to the arrest of the defendants across Texas, California, and Oklahoma.
The accused are alleged to have defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a financial program introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as various financial institutions, out of over $53 million in loan proceeds.
US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, emphasized the seriousness of the charges, stating, “Defrauding the government is an affront to American taxpayers. Defrauding the government during a pandemic – at a time when millions of hardworking entrepreneurs struggled to make payroll and rent – is pouring salt in a wound.”
“These defendants allegedly conspired to steal tens of million dollars from the Paycheck Protection Program—funds which could have helped legitimate businesses pay their bills and keep their employees afloat
