Wallace Ford, Wire Fraud, Massachusetts 2024

Massachusetts Man Charged in $7.5 Million PPP Fraud Scheme

BOSTON, MA - June 30, 2024 - Wallace Ford, 38, of Buford, Ga., has been charged in connection with his alleged involvement in a multi-state scheme to obtain millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for himself and others through the submission of dozens of fraudulent applications to PPP lenders.

Ford, along with five others, including three from Massachusetts, has been charged by an Information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit unlawful monetary transactions. Plea hearings have not yet been scheduled by the court.

According to the charging documents, Ford conspired with Adiana Pierre, 39, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., and Gardy Alexandre, 51, of West Palm Beach, Fla., to submit fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of numerous actual or purported businesses and non-profit organizations, including businesses operated by Wens Herby Mathurin, 26, of Brockton, Mass., and Bill Dessaps, 46, of South Easton, Mass.

The scheme allegedly began in April 2020, when Ford began submitting PPP applications on behalf of his own businesses, as well as those of Pierre, Alexandre, and other borrowers. It is alleged that Ford fabricated how many employees worked for the businesses and those business' monthly payroll expenses, facts that determined the size of a loan that a business could receive.

As a result, between May and August 2020, Ford, Pierre, Alexandre, and others obtained approximately $7 million in PPP funds to which they were not entitled. Collectively, Ford, Pierre, and Alexandre allegedly received over $1 million in kickback payments from borrowers.

The charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit unlawful monetary transactions carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and a fine of up to $1 million.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/six-individuals-charged-connection-75-million-multi-state-ppp-fraud-scheme