Daniel Wasielewski, Wire Fraud, Pennsylvania 2023

SCRANTON - A Luzerne County man has been charged with committing over $350,000 in Covid-19 pandemic fraud.

Daniel Wasielewski, 58, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was charged on July 28, 2023 in a criminal information with wire fraud.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the information alleges that Wasielewski filed and assisted others in filing fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds, including under the Payment Protection Program (PPP), for Economic Injury and Disaster Loans (EIDLs), and for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.

The PPP and EIDL applications allegedly submitted by Wasielewski and his confederates were filed on behalf of corporate entities that did not, in fact, have actual business operations, and that bore false revenues and other business information. The applications also included forged IRS tax documents.

Wasielewski allegedly received approximately $350,000 in PPP, EIDL, PUA, and other fraudulently-obtained funds, for himself and others. Instead of using the funds on business expenses, Wasielewski and others allegedly used them to purchase cryptocurrency and on other personal expenses.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip J. Caraballo and Sean Camoni are prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalties under federal law for the charge of wire fraud is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

Daniel Wasielewski is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/luzerne-county-man-charged-committing-350000-covid-19-pandemic-fraud