CONCORD, NH – Pierre Rogers, 44, of Irvine, California, is trading luxury for a federal prison cell after being sentenced to 41 months for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. Rogers used the COVID-19 pandemic – and the resulting CARES Act – not for legitimate business support, but as a personal slush fund for high-end living, authorities announced today.
The CARES Act, passed by Congress to provide relief to businesses and individuals reeling from the COVID-19 crisis, established the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. These programs, backed by government guarantees, were designed to keep businesses afloat and employees paid. Instead, Rogers and his co-defendant, Joshua Leavitt, saw an opportunity for exploitation. They submitted fraudulent applications for dozens of PPP and EIDL loans, claiming inflated revenues and employee numbers for their companies, Puro Trader (doing business as Yahyn) and Sunju.
Court documents reveal the pair submitted 22 fraudulent loan applications and modification requests totaling over $4.8 million. Rogers personally pocketed $803,756 in CARES Act funds. But this wasn’t about keeping a business running; it was about indulging in a lavish lifestyle. The feds say Rogers didn’t use the money to pay employees or cover business expenses. He spent $107,780 on a 2011 Rolls Royce Ghost and another $56,000 on a Porsche.
The spending spree didn’t stop there. Rogers blew through CARES Act funds on designer clothing and jewelry from luxury retailers like Bottega Veneta, Cartier, and Bulgari. He treated himself to resort stays and racked up bills at high-end restaurants, indulging in sushi and steak while countless Americans struggled to make ends meet. U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young minced no words: “The defendant took advantage of the COVID crisis by spending fraudulently obtained taxpayer-backed funds on luxury items, while those who were truly entitled to the funds struggled to keep their businesses open and their employees paid.”
“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating those individuals that took advantage of COVID-19 relief programs to ensure they are held accountable for the fraudulent activity,” added Timothy R. Benitez, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service. The investigation was a joint effort by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Secret Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Leavitt, Rogers’ co-defendant, has already pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on March 6, 2023.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case. Rogers’ 41-month sentence serves as a stark reminder that exploiting a national crisis for personal gain will be met with federal prosecution. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on similar instances of pandemic-related fraud.
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Key Facts
- State: New Hampshire
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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