November 15, 2021 – LOS ANGELES – A man from the Santa Clarita Valley was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for conspiring to fraudulently obtain approximately $ 1.8 million in COVID-19 aid guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Disaster Lending Program (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Hassan Kanyike, 30, of Santa Clarita, was convicted by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips, who also ordered him to pay a fine of $ 20,000 and $ 1,302,550 in restitution to the SBA and four victim lenders. Kanyike pleaded guilty on March 29 to one count of wire fraud.

From April 2020 to June 2020, Kanyike submitted six fraudulent PPP loan applications and two fraudulent requests from EIDL. The demands sought funds to allegedly pay the salaries of employees he said worked for two of his companies. Kanyike has successfully secured approximately $ 1 million through four PPP loans and an additional $ 300,000 through two EIDL loans.

In support of the fraudulent PPP loan applications, Kanyike submitted false federal income tax returns and payroll reports for a used car company, Falcon Motors, based in Van Nuys. For example, in a loan application, Kanyike falsely claimed that the company had 26 employees and an average monthly payroll of $ 168,000, and he submitted a fabricated IRS tax form claiming that Falcon Motors paid $ 2,022,300. to employees in 2019.

In fact, Falcon Motors did not have any employees on the payroll. Kanyike further admitted that he obtained additional employer identification numbers from the IRS in April and May 2020 so that he could apply for multiple loans for the same used car company. Kanyike then used a substantial portion of the proceeds from the PPP loan for his personal benefit.

Kanyike conspired to fraudulently obtain eight loans totaling approximately $ 1.8 million, of which six loans totaling $ 1,302,550 were approved.

At the time of his arrest in December 2020, Kanyike had transferred approximately $ 762,000 to Uganda, his country of citizenship, from one of the commercial accounts that received the loan proceeds, in violation of the terms of the PPP program. and EIDL.

Internal security investigations and the Inspector General of the Treasury for the tax administration investigated the case.

Deputy U.S. Attorney Richard E. Robinson of the Major Fraud Section and Deputy Chief William Johnston of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice have continued this case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Control hotline at (866) 720 -5721 or via the NCDF web complaint form at: https: //www.justice .gov / disaster-fraud / ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Source: MJ press release