A New Jersey man pleads guilty to obtaining a $900,000 COVID loan for a fake business

WESTFIELD – A Westfield man has admitted in federal court to his role in a scheme in which he fraudulently obtained a $900,000 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan during the pandemic by sending money to a received from a company that has no workforce or payroll.

Joseph McKeon, also known as “Jay,” 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Julien

Court documents say that from February 2021 to February 2022, McKeon submitted $900,000 in fraudulent PPP loan and forgiveness applications in the name of a New Jersey company he claimed to own, B&T Builders of Westfield.

In support of these requests, McKeon provided information about the number of employees employed at the company and the employees’ income, documents say.

According to court documents, McKeon claimed the company had 60 employees and a monthly payroll of $360,000.

However, authorities said the company had no employees or payroll.

After the victim’s lender funded the loan, McKeon withdrew a significant portion of the loan proceeds in cash and made several large transfers between bank accounts, including a $315,504 wire sent to a title company in Indiana.

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McKeon later submitted a loan application to the lender. The federal Small Business Administration then transferred the principal of $900,000 and interest of $13,068.49 to the lender.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

A money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2025.

The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five task forces established by the Department of Justice across the United States to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The force is focused on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The task force is a multi-agency law enforcement effort using teams led by prosecutors and data analysts aimed at identifying and bringing to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

Anyone with information about suspected COVID-19-related fraud can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721 or using the NCDF web complaint form at https://www. justice uses. gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Email: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Westfield man pleads guilty to taking out COVID loan for fake company