Prosecutors anticipate a guilty plea in cases involving a promotional products distributor from Utah who is accused of a COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) scam and also of allegedly lying to obtain coronavirus-related business relief loans from the federal government, then spending a chunk of the money on a new truck.
In court papers filed the week of June 26, federal prosecutors said it’s “anticipated that (John Anthony Taylor) will be pleading guilty to fraud.”
Court filings also indicated that the prosecution and defense have stipulated to the sale of the 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 truck that Taylor is accused of purchasing with business relief loans as part of a forfeiture.
The U.S. Marshals Service is being lined up to sell the truck at an auction. After paying various costs associated with the sale and any potential liens, the government would maintain the net proceeds in a seized asset account pending further court order.
A trial that had been scheduled for July 18 is likely to be postponed.
Taylor has previously told ASI Media that he has not done anything illegal. “It’s a complete misunderstanding,” he said of the first case against him, which involves wire fraud charges filed in 2020.
In that case, Taylor perpetuated a PPE scam at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors charge. According to authorities, Taylor claimed to have access to millions of N95 respirator masks from 3M when he did not have the masks or…
