A case of brazen financial deception has landed two Utah residents behind bars. Hubert Ivan Ugarte, 52, of Draper, and Lisa Bradshaw Rowberry, 49, of Provo, were sentenced for their roles in unlawfully obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for Frisbu Trucking, Incorporated, where they were both employed.
Rowberry, the former Assistant Vice President of U.S. Bank, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison last week in federal court. Her co-defendant, Ugarte, the owner and operator of Frisbu Trucking, Inc., was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison back in June for his role in the PPP loan fraud scheme. Ugarte’s sentence will run concurrently with a sentence he received in a related case involving the bribery of officials at the Utah FedEx Ground Hub.
According to plea agreements in this case, Ugarte hired Rowberry to work for Frisbu after she had been terminated from U.S. Bank for engaging in financial transactions with Ugarte that violated U.S. Bank’s ethical policies. After Ugarte was indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in the FedEx bribery scheme, Ugarte’s many trucking businesses began to struggle because they were dependent on Ugarte’s ability to engage in business with the FedEx Ground Hub.
In order to remain in business, Ugarte and Rowberry fraudulently applied for a PPP loan authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and obtained $210,000 in loan funding. However, Rowberry and Ugarte both unlawfully failed to disclose that Ugarte was under federal indictment for his role in the FedEx bribery case.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP.
PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses a certain amount of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys in the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office. Special Agents from the FBI, IRS, and the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General conducted the investigations.
Related Federal Cases
- Utah Businessman Marcelo Torre Sentenced to Prison for $628,000 PPP Loan Scam · Utah
- Robert Gordon, Healthcare Fraud, FL, 2023 · Ohio
- Ford GM Launches FDIC-Insured Auto Loan Banks, Washington DC, 2023 · Utah
- Curtis Lynn DeYoung, $24M Mail Fraud, Salt Lake City UT, 2023 · Utah
- Robert Watson, Tax Fraud, Salt Lake City UT, 2023 · Utah
Key Facts
- State: Utah
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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