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Christopher Daragjati, PPP Fraud, Jacksonville FL, 2023
JACKSONVILLE, FL – A Middleburg man is facing a mountain of federal charges after allegedly building a fraud scheme around stolen identities, raking in over $150,000 in illicit Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Christopher Leo Daragjati, 33, was indicted this week on seven counts of wire fraud, ten counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of theft of government property exceeding $1,000, and two counts of false representation of a Social Security number.
According to federal prosecutors, Daragjati didn’t just stop at the PPP. He allegedly exploited victims’ personal information – including Social Security numbers – to obtain fraudulent Florida identification cards. Armed with these fake IDs, he applied for three PPP loans, submitting bogus tax documents and making repeated false statements to lenders. The scheme worked: lenders approved the applications, and Daragjati pocketed approximately $150,000 in loan proceeds, diverting the funds into bank accounts opened under the stolen identities.
The indictment details a second, separate fraud involving Sunbelt Rentals. Daragjati allegedly used the PII of four more victims to open commercial lines of credit, then rented thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Instead of returning the rented items, he pawned or otherwise disposed of them, leaving the victims to deal with the fallout – in at least one instance, a felony arrest warrant was issued in a victim’s name and entered into the National Crime Information Center.
As if that weren’t enough, Daragjati allegedly filed a false tax return in January 2022, again using a stolen identity. The IRS approved the fraudulent return, issuing a refund of over $1,000 which Daragjati directed into a bank account controlled by him, but registered under the victim’s name. The scheme demonstrates a brazen disregard for both the law and the lives of the individuals whose identities were stolen.
Daragjati appeared in federal court yesterday and was ordered temporarily detained, with a detention hearing scheduled for April 3, 2023. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, a mandatory minimum of 2 years for each aggravated identity theft count, up to 5 years for each false SSN representation, up to 10 years for theft of government property, and restitution to the victims he defrauded.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and multiple other agencies including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service – Jacksonville Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney will prosecute the case. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, and Daragjati is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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