A North Texas man who is also a Liberian National, Steven Jalloul who is the owner of a tax preparation company in Dallas, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the COVID-19 relief program to help struggling business owners, FOX4news reports.
According to the report, the North Texas man Steven Jalloul was already headed to prison for a six-year sentence for a previous tax fraud conviction.
Investigators did not say how they were tipped off, but some of his neighbours suspected he was up to something when they saw expensive cars he was driving around, the FOX4News report stated.
TheNorth Texas man who is 43, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to orchestrating a fraud scheme to get more than $23 million in money that was supposed to help small businesses struggling during the pandemic, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Steven Jalloul is an accountant. The listed address for his business is inside a North Dallas office building.
A recent home address is at an apartment complex in Garland, where neighbours say Jalloul drove fancy cars and wore high-end clothing.
How The North Texas Man Steven Jalloul Fraud Case Started?
According to FOX4 news report, it all started when the United States federal government rolled out $350 billion in forgivable PPP loans during the pandemic. It was meant to help struggling businesses pay and keep employees.
The feds, however, say Jalloul after his arrest last fall admitted while working as an accountant to inflating the number of employees business had so they could get more money from the government.
Federal prosecutors say Jalloul tried to get $23 million on behalf of more than 160 clients. 97 of those loans were approved. His clients were awarded $12 million. He was paid nearly $1 million in fees.
“I hope he gets what he deserves,” said neighbour Douglas Brennan. “Because it was the pandemic and you’ve got folks that are trying to keep their heads above water.”
The thing is this isn’t Jalloul’s first run-in with the law. He pleaded guilty to tax crimes in January 2020 and was on pre-trial release when he committed the PPP crimes, according to a criminal complaint.
“I would never have known that,” Brennan said.
Now, Jalloul is facing up to ten years in prison. Some of his neighbours can’t help but think of the businesses that actually deserved and needed that money.
“Some snake coming along taking money that could be theirs rightfully,” Brennan said.
Jalloul is awaiting sentencing.
The Small Business Administration will decide if it wants to take back portions of the $12 million that was given to businesses.