BOSTON – The Department of Justice has laid down the law on Carlisle’s Durgaprasad Rao, 65, charging him with over $18 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The allegations paint a grim picture of deceit, as Rao is accused of submitting falsified applications for multiple companies under his control.
According to the charges, Rao, owner and operator of Accelerated Engineering, LLC, and Upstream Global Services, Inc., applied for over $18 million in PPP funds between April 2020 and May 2021. His own Massachusetts-based entities reaped nearly $7 million of that figure, with $1.5 million approved for forgiveness.
It’s alleged that Rao’s applications were laced with lies about payroll and employee numbers, accompanied by fake supporting documents like tax returns and payroll records. The funds he obtained are said to have been misused, including transfers to foreign businesses and the purchase of a luxury New York City condominium.
Rao now faces two counts of wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. His initial appearance is set for this afternoon at federal court in Boston.
The investigation was a joint effort by the Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and local law enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Sullivan and David Tobin are handling the prosecution.
Under President Biden’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, efforts to combat pandemic-related fraud have been bolstered. The Justice Department encourages anyone with information on such fraud to report it through their National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or Web Complaint Form.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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