A Shelton man is facing up to 20 years in prison after admitting to defrauding a COVID-19 pandemic relief program, authorities announced today.
Tony Sterlin Cantave, 45, of Shelton, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to one count of theft of government money and one count of making an illegal monetary transaction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2020, Cantave applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), claiming his business, Arbitrage 1 Media, was an ongoing, legitimate business involved in the limousine and transportation business.
However, the application contained a number of materially false statements, including that Cantave was not more than 60 days delinquent in his child support obligations. After the SBA reviewed and approved the fraudulent EIDL application, Cantave received $96,200.
Cantave then used the proceeds from the loan to pay for personal and non-business expenses, including $16,607.26 to pay off an automobile loan. He has agreed to pay $104,176.21 in restitution.
Cantave has two prior federal convictions, including a 1999 conviction for a firearm offense and a 2015 conviction for his participation in a U.S. Postal Service money order fraud scheme. He is currently free pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.
Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s 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
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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