Judlex Jean Louis, PPP Loan Fraud, Florida 2020

LAUDERHILL, FL – Judlex Jean Louis, 32, is facing fresh federal charges after allegedly exploiting the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to line his pockets. The feds say Louis fraudulently obtained loans intended to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic, all while already awaiting trial on separate fraud and theft charges stemming from incidents in 2014 and 2015.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, alongside the U.S. Secret Service and IRS-Criminal Investigations, announced the arrest. The CARES Act, passed in March 2020, authorized these forgivable PPP loans, but Louis allegedly saw it as an opportunity for another score. According to investigators, Louis submitted at least three fraudulent applications in early June, masking his involvement in each one.

The scheme was multi-layered. One application, submitted for a business Louis claimed to own, used a stolen Social Security number. Louis allegedly lied on the application, claiming he wasn’t facing any current criminal charges – a blatant falsehood given his existing legal woes. Another application, filed under the name of an accomplice’s business, included a doctored bank statement. The third was even bolder: Louis allegedly fabricated an entire business, using the identity of an unsuspecting victim with no connection to him whatsoever.

Investigators tracked the ill-gotten gains. Funds from the fraudulent loans were deposited into accounts controlled by Louis, and surveillance footage reportedly captured him withdrawing cash shortly after the deposits hit. The U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Field Office and the IRS-CI Miami Office led the investigation, with assistance from local law enforcement in Coral Springs and Broward County.

Louis is scheduled for a detention and preliminary hearing on August 14, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow in Ft. Lauderdale. He’s been charged with bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, and aggravated identity theft. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran N. Bhat is prosecuting the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole S. Grosnof handling asset forfeiture. This case highlights the continued targeting of pandemic relief fraud by federal agencies.

Anyone with information about COVID-19 related fraud is encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through their online complaint form. Remember, a criminal complaint is just an accusation, and Louis is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Court documents related to case number 20-6328-mj-Hunt can be found on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida website.

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