A 71-year-old Amherst businessman has been sentenced to time served and five years’ supervised release, including one year of home detention, for orchestrating a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
Hormoz Mansouri, the owner of several business entities, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and bank fraud, for filing fraudulent loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
The loans were designed to provide emergency financial assistance pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, but Mansouri falsified information to secure the funds.
According to the investigation, Mansouri controlled eight business entities that applied for loans: HLM Holding LLC, El Team Inc., NPTS Inc., 2060 Sheridan Drive LLC, 212 Holden Avenue LLC, 350 Old Niagara Falls Boulevard LLC, 47 East Amherst LLC, and 3600 Harlem Road LLC.
The total amount of money received from the fraudulent PPP loans totaled approximately $3,000,000, while the Mansouri-controlled entities also received around $450,600 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
Mansouri used the fraudulently obtained money to fund various bank accounts, commingling the proceeds with legitimate business revenues, and even used some of the funds to support his campaign for County Comptroller, with the creation of a campaign account.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.
Mansouri was ordered to pay restitution totaling $3,197,562 and to forfeit $1,888,603.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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