SoCal Con Man Caged in $6M SBA Scam

⏱ 2 min read

Frank Hamilton, 55, of Simi Valley, California, is trading sunshine for shadows after getting 66 months in federal prison yesterday. The career con man ran a multi-million dollar scheme to rip off the Small Business Administration, raking in over $6 million in fraudulent loans both before and during the pandemic. Judge Wendy Beetlestone also slapped him with a $6,093,024.90 restitution order – meaning he’ll be paying this off for a long time.

Hamilton wasn’t hitting up corner stores. He was the architect of a sophisticated fraud, teaching others how to cook the books. We’re talking fake tax returns, fabricated business records, the whole nine yards. He even specialized in sourcing ‘shelf companies’ – pre-existing businesses bought and sold to create the illusion of legitimacy. It was all about looking credible enough to snag SBA-backed cash, then vanishing with it.

The scheme started with standard SBA 7(a) loans, but Hamilton quickly smelled bigger money in the COVID-19 relief programs: Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. While legitimate businesses scrambled to keep employees on the payroll, Hamilton’s crew was focused on one thing: lining their own pockets. No jobs saved, no community support – just pure greed.

Federal investigators say the total damage exceeds $6 million. Hamilton will have plenty of time to contemplate his choices – and figure out how to repay that restitution – from a federal prison cell. The feds didn’t name Hamilton’s accomplices in the press release, but expect more shoes to drop in this case.