BILLINGS – Two Montana men have been charged with a $1 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme, accused of using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for personal expenses, including buying property and vehicles.
Trevor Gene Lanius-McLeod, 48, of Laurel, and Kasey Jones Wilson, 29, of Helena, each pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging them with bank fraud and with engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants face a maximum 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Lanius-McLeod was arraigned on July 27 before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston in Great Falls, while Wilson was arraigned on the same day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan in Billings. Both defendants were released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that from about April 2020 to December 2020, the defendants applied for and received four PPP loans totaling $1,043,000 through Valley Bank of Helena, a Division of Glacier Bank, on behalf of four business entities.
The defendants made numerous false statements about having paid payroll taxes and having employees in the applications. In promissory notes, they agreed to use the loan funds for payroll costs, costs related to group health care benefits and insurance premiums, rent, utilities, interest on payments on debt and refinancing a Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
If convicted, the defendants face the forfeiture of property related to the crimes, including property in East Helena, four vehicles and a travel trailer. The PPP program, which is part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, provided emergency assistance to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.
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Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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