Two Indian-origin men in US guilty of fraud in multi-million dollar Covid fund
Houston (PTI): Two men of Indian origin in the US have pleaded guilty to their participation in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme by obtaining loans under an economic assistance plan following the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the justice department said.
The Department of Justice in a statement said Nishant Patel, 41, and Harjeet Singh, 49, both from Houston and three others engaged in fraudulently obtaining and laundering millions of dollars in forgivable Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) loans that the Small Business Administration (SBA) guarantees under the CARES Act.
They admitted to submitting false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to SBA and certain SBA-approved PPP lenders.
All five defendants also assisted in laundering the fraudulently obtained PPP loan funds by supplying co-conspirators with blank, endorsed checks, which were made payable to people posing as employees of the companies that received the PPP loan, but who were in fact not employees.
These fake paychecks were then cashed at check-cashing stores that other members of the conspiracy controlled.
As part of the scheme, Patel obtained a false and fraudulent PPP loan of about USD 474,993 and Singh obtained two false and fraudulent PPP loans for a total of USD 937,379, the statement said.
The three others involved in the fraud obtained a total amount of more than USD 1.4 million, it added.
They are scheduled to be sentenced on January 4 next year and each face a total maximum penalty of five years in prison.
In addition to these five defendants, one other individual was convicted at trial for his involvement in the scheme, and 15 other individuals have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the loan fraud scheme.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 provided fast and direct economic assistance for American workers, families, small businesses, and industries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Allahabad High Court summons Bareilly DM, SSP over plea on offering ‘namaz’
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has directed the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Bareilly to appear before it on March 23 after a petitioner alleged denial of permission to perform namaz inside his house.
The order was passed by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddhartha Nandan while hearing the plea by Tarik Khan of Bareilly.
On February 12, the court had granted time to counsel for the State to respond to the plea and had issued notices to the DM and SSP of Bareilly.
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In the petition, it is alleged that authorities did not permit the offering of 'namaz' inside the house of Khan on January 16.
Earlier, in another case related to Maranatha Full Gospel Ministries, the court had observed that the petitioner has right to conduct the prayer as per his convenience in his own private premises without any permission from the state government.
"However, if any occasion arises where it has to spill over the public road or public property, in such a situation, this court mandates that the petitioner shall at least intimate the police and take any requisite permission under the law, if so required," the HC had said.
