Detroit man sentenced to federal prison in COVID-19 loan fraud scheme
A Detroit man was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $650,000 in a scheme over COVID-19 relief loans, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Marc Andrew Martin, 46, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to a term of 15 months in prison followed by three years supervised release, . He was also ordered to pay $659,152 upon pleading guilty in March to fraud conspiracy.
He could have faced up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.
The charge focuses on Martin's role in a $14.5 million interstate fraud scheme on the Paycheck Protection Program, a COVID-19 relief effort aimed at eligible businesses to help them make payroll and cover other expenses with the economic disruptions of the time.
This investigation involved the recruitment of hundreds of small businesses in Pittsburgh and Detroit, as falsified PPP loan applications were submitted. The Small Business Administration approved 226 of those applications, resulting in about $14.5 million in loans approved. Martin specifically was accused of referring potential loan packages during 2020 and 2021 to others involved in the scheme.
Federal officials say this investigation was the largest known PPP fraud scheme in western Pennsylvania.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service were involved in the investigation of this case.
