Bergen County Lawyer Jae Choi Indicted in $9M PPP Scam

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County attorney is facing the music after allegedly ripping off the federal government to the tune of nearly $9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Jae H. Choi, 48, of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, was formally indicted Sept. 15, 2020, on charges of brazen fraud, prosecutors announced. Choi previously faced a complaint but now stands accused of four counts of bank fraud, four counts of false statements on a loan application, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering.

The feds aren’t just after jail time. The indictment seeks to seize eleven bank accounts, one investment account, and Choi’s million-dollar home in Cresskill, New Jersey – all allegedly purchased with the stolen funds. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito and Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt say Choi submitted four bogus PPP loan applications to four different lenders, claiming to represent businesses offering educational services. The whole operation was built on lies.

According to court documents, Choi fabricated hundreds of employees and doctored bank and tax records to support his claims. He even allegedly forged a driver’s license on the applications. Choi falsely told lenders his companies had hundreds of workers and a monthly payroll exceeding $3 million. In a particularly callous move, he reportedly emailed a lender claiming he’d just informed 150 employees they were losing their jobs because the loan hadn’t arrived, describing “grown men and women crying.” He even had the gall to write he “sincerely hope[d]” the lender’s employee “would never find [himself] in this kind of situation.”

The scheme worked – at least for a while. Three lenders bought the lies and funded the businesses with approximately $3 million each, totaling nearly $9 million in emergency COVID-19 relief funds intended for struggling small businesses. Choi didn’t use the money to save jobs or pay rent. Instead, he funneled it into personal expenses, including the aforementioned Cresskill mansion, $30,000 in home renovations, and millions more invested in the stock market through an account in his wife’s name.

The Paycheck Protection Program, authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, was designed to provide a lifeline to Americans hit hard by the pandemic. Qualifying businesses could receive forgivable loans with low interest rates if they used the funds for payroll, mortgages, rent, and utilities. Choi’s alleged actions are a stark reminder that some saw the crisis not as an opportunity to help others, but as a chance to enrich themselves.

The investigation was a joint effort by IRS – Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy and Trial Attorney Andrew Tyler are prosecuting the case. Anyone with information regarding COVID-19 fraud is urged to come forward. An arraignment date for Choi has not yet been set.