MINNEAPOLIS – Mark Erjavec, 49, of Edina, Minnesota, is facing five counts of wire fraud after allegedly pilfering over $975,000 in Covid-19 relief funds, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson announced today. Erjavec made his initial appearance in federal court, accused of exploiting a national crisis for personal gain.
“Erjavec stole nearly $1 million in government dollars meant to keep small businesses alive during the pandemic,” Thompson stated bluntly. “When Minnesotans were struggling to keep their doors open and pay their workers, Erjavec lined his own pockets. Fraud that exploits a crisis is especially shameful.” The indictment alleges a calculated scheme to defraud federal programs designed to provide a lifeline to struggling businesses.
According to the indictment, Erjavec didn’t build businesses; he resurrected ghosts. From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, he owned nine Minnesota businesses – Tricolor Heron, LLC, Mesaba Finance – Law, LLC, Mesaba Finance – Summit, LLC among them – which had long since been administratively dissolved by the Minnesota Secretary of State between 2008 and 2013. He dusted them off for a brazen attempt to siphon off federal aid.
Between April and August 2020, Erjavec reactivated these dormant entities and submitted fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The applications were allegedly riddled with lies: inflated revenues, phantom employees, and fabricated IRS tax forms, all designed to create the illusion of legitimate business activity. He even reportedly opened new checking accounts for these shell companies on the same day, or within days, of registering them.
The result? More than $975,000 in Covid-19 relief funds funneled directly into accounts controlled by Erjavec. The money wasn’t used to save jobs or support a struggling economy; it was used for his own personal benefit and spending, according to the indictment. “As alleged in the indictment, Mark Erjavec knowingly submitted false and fraudulent documents to the Small Business Administration in order to take money intended for legitimate small businesses suffering during the Covid-era economic downturn,” said Minneapolis FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. “Our efforts to stop this egregious fraud are moving forward full speed ahead.”
The investigation was a joint effort by the Office of Inspector General – U.S. Department of Commerce and the FBI, as part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is prosecuting the case. It’s important to remember that an indictment is merely an allegation, and Erjavec is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. But the feds are building their case, and Erjavec will have to answer for allegedly betraying the trust of a nation in crisis.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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