A New York couple was sentenced to time served and supervised release for conspiring to defraud COVID-19 relief programs meant for businesses struggling with the pandemic. Deborah Budhraj, 52, and her husband Adesh Budhraj, 54, of Ballston Lake, New York, were handed down the sentence by Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn, who also ordered them to pay a $5,000 fine and $558,514 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Budhraj’s, who co-owned a combination restaurant, bar and nightclub in Schenectady, had applied for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and one Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) between April 2020 and June 2021. The loans totaled $558,514 and were meant to support their business and its employees during the pandemic.
However, the couple admitted to using the loaned funds for impermissible purposes, including real estate transactions and personal expenses. Deborah Budhraj also fraudulently obtained forgiveness of the two PPP loans by falsely certifying that the loaned funds were spent in accordance with PPP rules.
The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett prosecuted it. The couple pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud loan programs meant for businesses struggling with the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors.
The Department of Justice is urging anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 to report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Related Federal Cases
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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