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PHILADELPHIA – Frank Hamilton, a 55-year-old from Simi Valley, California, is headed to federal prison for 5.5 years after admitting he masterminded a brazen scheme to rip off banks and the Small Business Administration. Judge Wendy Beetlestone handed down the 66-month sentence yesterday, along with a $6,093,024.90 restitution order.
Hamilton and his crew didn’t just hit one bank, they systematically targeted multiple lenders, including the SBA, leveraging both pre-pandemic 7(a) loans and the massive COVID-relief programs – Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Court documents reveal the group shifted focus *to* the pandemic loans, seeing bigger opportunities for fraud.
The scam was simple, if audacious: fake loan applications propped up by fabricated documents. Hamilton allegedly coached his co-conspirators, supplying them with bogus tax returns and even sourcing “shelf companies” – pre-built businesses bought to create the illusion of legitimacy. These were businesses already registered, fees paid, then sold to someone needing a quick corporate facade. They exploited the PPP’s forgiveness clause, too, likely making false claims about payroll to siphon off even more cash.