Derry Man Sentenced for Pandemic Relief Scam

CONCORD – A former Derry man got a taste of hard time for submitting dozens of fake applications for pandemic relief funds, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announced.

David Dodge, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro to 34 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud on February 20, 2024. His wife and co-conspirator, Tammy Dodge, pled guilty to bank fraud on March 4, 2024, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2024.

“Congress passed the CARES Act to help Americans struggling during the worst health crisis in a century,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “The defendant exploited this lifeline to steal from taxpayers to buy luxury items including a diamond ring. Today’s significant sentence reflects the seriousness of the offense and underscores that we are continuing to vigilantly prosecute pandemic relief fraud.”

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case. Dodge claimed to own or control multiple businesses in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including Teacher Tammy (a/k/a Teacher Tammy’s), Optimized Operations, and Business Done Right. However, these companies had no operations and served no business purpose.

Dodge and his wife submitted dozens of fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from private lenders, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) from the Small Business Administration, and pandemic relief grants from the New Hampshire Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR) and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). To commit the fraud, Dodge used the Social Security Number of a minor child to apply for and obtain an Employer Identification Number from the IRS for a fictional company called Consulting Services.

Overall, because lenders detected most of the fraudulent applications, the Dodges obtained $219,323.34. They misused the fraudulently obtained funds, including to purchase a hot tub and a diamond ring. “The Treasury Inspector General for Tax administration (TIGTA) aggressively investigates the abuse of IRS systems to defraud federal and state relief programs through fraudulent applications,” stated Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Carpenter. “In this case, the defendant diverted COVID-19 pandemic relief funds intended for legitimate businesses and their employees for personal gains.”