A jailed Liberian, Steven Jalloul, has pulled off another scam while locked up in U.S. prison for tax fraud.
The Ligerian from Dallas, Texas, managed to orchestrate a fraudulent scheme to secure more than $23 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
While he was locked-up in the Seagoville federal prison, Jalloul submitted falsified PPP forms for his clients, inflating the number of workers they had so they could get more money.
The clients then paid Jalloul nearly $1 million in ‘commissions.’
The 43 year-old scammer was eventually caught.
On Thursday, Jalloul was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad E. Meacham.
In addition to the extra sentence, a judge has ordered all of the money be returned to the federal government.
Steven Jalloul, a 43-year-old tax consultant from the Dallas area, was first charged via criminal complaint in September 2020; he pleaded guilty in October 2021 to a superseding information charging him with one count of engaging in monetary transactions using property derived from unlawful activity.
He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
“Mr. Jalloul callously exploited the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to keep struggling businesses afloat during the pandemic. He took money out of the hands of businesspeople who truly needed it,” said U.S. Attorney Chad…
