Fahad Shah, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, Texas 2020

A Plano man has been accused of swindling millions in COVID-19 relief funds meant for small businesses.

Fahad Shah, 44, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on February 18, 2023, in connection with his role in filing fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $3 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, Shah sought over $3 million in PPP loans from two different SBA-approved lenders. In the first application submitted to one lender, Shah sought over $1.7 million in PPP loan proceeds by fraudulently claiming that his company, WBF Weddings by Farah Inc. (WBF), employed 126 individuals with an average monthly payroll of over $700,000. In the second application, Shah sought over $1.5 million in PPP loan proceeds by fraudulently claiming that WBF had 126 employees with an average monthly payroll of over $600,000. According to court documents, WBF had only two employees.

Shah admitted that he obtained over $1.5 million in PPP loan proceeds. Within days of receiving the PPP funds, Shah used over $1 million in fraudulently obtained proceeds to pay off his home mortgage, purchase securities through his personal investment account, and buy two Teslas, two Freightliner trucks, and a Mercedes Benz van.

Shah was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 18, 2020, and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The SBA-OIG, FHFA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, IRS-CI, and TIGTA are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Coan and Robert Wells of the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorneys Della Sentilles and Louis Manzo of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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