Harold Dotson, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, Maryland 2024

Baltimore, Maryland - A notorious figure in the world of COVID-19 relief fraud has been brought to justice. Harold Dotson, 54, of Gaithersburg Maryland, was sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release — including six months of home confinement — in connection with a conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, beginning in April 2020, and continuing through January 2022, Dotson engaged in multiple wire fraud conspiracies. These conspiracies involved submitting fraudulent loan applications for various COVID-19 relief benefits, including EIDL and PPP loans.

Dotson, an accountant and tax preparer, served as the owner and principal of H&M Tax Service LLC (H&M Tax), doing business as H&M Financial Group, LLC — a tax preparation business — during the time frame of the conspiracies. He used his accountant expertise to assist with preparing numerous false and fraudulent EIDL and PPP applications for purported businesses that did not exist in any legitimate capacity.

The fraudulent loan applications included false information about the phony businesses’ number of employees, monthly payroll costs, and revenue.   Dotson also routinely created false and fraudulent Internal Revenue Service tax forms. He created the fraudulent tax forms for co-conspirator Ahmed Sary, 47, of Brooklyn, Maryland, and other co-conspirators to submit with the false PPP applications.

In return, Dotson received a percentage of the fraudulent loan proceeds, ranging from 2 to 27 percent. Through the scheme, Dotson received more than $828,498.95 from the co-conspirators.  Then Dotson primarily used the fraudulent funds to gamble at various casinos in Maryland, including Maryland Live, the Horseshoe, and MGM National Harbor. He also used the money for a gambling trip to Las Vegas.

Dotson’s conspiracy with Sary resulted in the disbursement of $14,807,609.37 in fraudulently obtained PPP funds in connection with more than 85 fraudulent PPP loans. Additionally, Dotson’s conspiracy with another co-conspirator resulted in the disbursement of at least 30 fraudulent PPP loans valued at least $6,499,823.12. More than $3,500,000 was funded and disbursed in connection with Dotson’s submission of fraudulent EIDL applications.

Dotson must also pay $24,807,432 in restitution. This is not the first time Dotson has faced consequences for his actions, as Judge Bennett sentenced Sary to seven years in federal prison in connection with the conspiracy in June 2024.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-accountant-sentenced-federal-prison-connection-24-million-covid-relief-fraud