A 53-year-old El Sobrante resident made headlines for all the wrong reasons, as federal authorities announced the indictment of Lane Jenkins for swindling over $1.1 million in pandemic relief funds.
The indictment charges Jenkins, president of A & L Investments LLC, with wire fraud and submitting false writings to a government agency. According to the indictment, Jenkins applied for and received two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling over $1 million in February and April 2021. He claimed his company had dozens of employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly payroll expenses, but in reality, A & L had zero employees and no monthly payroll.
Jenkins also applied for and received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) of nearly $95,000 in July 2020 for a maid and cleaning service he claimed to operate as a sole proprietor. The application falsely stated that Jenkins had 10 employees and gross revenues of $241,353, but he had no employees and no revenues. Instead of using the funds for approved business expenses, Jenkins used the money to enrich himself.
The PPP and EIDL programs were administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provided billions of dollars in emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The indictment charges Jenkins with three counts of wire fraud and one count of submitting false writings to a government agency. If convicted, Jenkins faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison on each of the three counts of wire fraud and a maximum statutory sentence of 5 years in prison on the fourth count. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Chambers, and the prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and SBA-OIG. Jenkins has not yet appeared in court to face the charges against him.
Related Federal Cases
- Ex-Flight Attendant Pleads Guilty to Stealing Passenger Funds · New York
- Dorothy Matsuba Led $30M Mortgage Relief Fraud Scheme · California
- Wall Street Bailout: NY & CA Lose $2 Trillion · North Carolina
- Crypto Dreams & COVID Cash: Rideshare Driver Accused of $2M Scam · California
- Sacramento Con Man Gets 4+ Years for $1.1M Tax Heist · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News