A North Texas couple has been charged with defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program out of more than $684,000, announed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Patrick Kasong Muyej, 48, and Chisanga Mable Scot, 43, were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Mr. Muyej was also charged with eight counts of money laundering and one count of theft of government funds while Ms. Scott was charged with one count of false use of a passport.
According to the indictment, the pair allegedly submitted fraudulent applications for $1.85 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of businesses that did not qualify for the loans.
In application paperwork, they allegedly falsified the business’s number of employees – listing individuals who they did not employ – and manufacturing the businesses’ monthly payroll.
They allegedly used the same bank statement in support of multiple loan applications but doctored the name of the account holder on each one to match the name of the PPP loan applicant.
In total, they received two PPP loans totaling $684,158.33. Mr. Muyej is also alleged to have laundered that money.
In addition, Mr. Muyej also took advantage of Covid relief by fraudulently obtaining unemployment insurance benefits from the State of Nevada in August 2020.
An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Both defendants are presumed innocent until…
