BOSTON – A Carlisle man has been arrested and charged for allegedly submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications on behalf of multiple companies he owns and controls.
\\
Durgaprasad Rao, 65, was charged with two counts of wire fraud. The 65-year-old was nabbed yesterday and is set to appear in federal court in Boston at 2 p.m. today, currently held pending a May 17th detention hearing.
\\
Rao, the owner of Accelerated Engineering, LLC, and Upstream Global Services, Inc., sought over $18 million in PPP funds for various companies across multiple states between April 2020 and May 2021. Nine of these applications were for entities he owned. In Massachusetts alone, Rao received nearly $7 million – with $1.5 million approved for forgiveness.
\\
Charging documents claim that Rao’s loan applications were riddled with false payroll and employee figures, as well as fraudulent supporting documents like fake tax returns and payroll records. The funds were alleged to have been misused, including transfers to foreign businesses and the acquisition of a luxury NYC condominium.
\\
The wire fraud charges carry sentences up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines up to $250,000. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Sullivan and David Tobin are prosecuting the case.
\\
Today’s announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Harry Chavis, Jr., of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division; Ketty Larco Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Carlisle Police Chief Andrew Amendola. The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force has been established to combat pandemic-related fraud, with the NCDF Hotline available for reporting fraudulent activities.
Related Federal Cases
- Massachusetts Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud Scheme · Massachusetts
- Harvard-Trained FinServ Founder Faces Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Charges · Massachusetts
- Cambridge Man Jailed for $40K Diary Fraud · Massachusetts
- Ricco Gets Probation for EPA Fraud · Massachusetts
- Andover Man Pleads Guilty to Union Benefit Fraud · Massachusetts
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
