PORTLAND, Ore.—A 57-year-old Portland entrepreneur, Peter Peacock Blood, has been charged with two counts of loan fraud for allegedly applying for and converting to his personal use loans intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, Blood is the sole owner and principal officer of two Oregon corporations, Cycle Power Partners, LLC, and Cycle Holdings, LLC. Tax returns filed in 2019 and 2020 showed that Cycle Power Partners had two or fewer employees and paid less than $6,900 in quarterly wages and other compensation. No quarterly tax returns were filed for Cycle Holdings during this time period.
In April 2020, Blood is alleged to have knowingly made false statements on two separate Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, claiming his companies had 10 employees and an average monthly payroll in excess of $116,000. The first application resulted in a loan of more than $332,000; the second yielded a loan of more than $290,000.
If convicted, Blood faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison, 5 years’ supervised release, and fines of up to $2 million. Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
It is worth noting that an indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Paycheck Protection Program is an economic relief program authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and administered by the Small Business Administration. The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans and small businesses suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Key Facts
- State: Oregon
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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