Georgia Cousins Sentenced for $2 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme

Georgia Cousins Sentenced for  Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme

Johnny Narcisse, 46, and his cousin, Johnson Dieujuste, 37, have been sentenced to prison for their roles in defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program out of more than $2 million.

Narcisse was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, while Dieujuste received a sentence of two years and eight months. Both men will also serve three years of supervised release after their prison terms. Narcisse was ordered to pay restitution of $2,000,332, while Dieujuste must pay $2,081,559.

The scheme began in 2021 when federal agents executed a search warrant on Narcisse’s home in Georgia during an investigation into tax crimes involving a Florida resident. The search uncovered evidence of a conspiracy between Narcisse and Dieujuste to recruit small business owners and submit fraudulent applications for COVID-19 relief loans, including both PPP and EIDL loans.

Narcisse and Dieujuste would collect business information from borrowers and fabricate the necessary details to apply for loans. Once the loans were approved, the borrowers were required to kick back a portion of the loan proceeds to the cousins. The scheme resulted in over $2 million in fraudulent loan disbursements.

Both men were also found to have filed for fraudulent COVID-19 loans for themselves. These additional fraudulent loans were included in the restitution orders at sentencing.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alana R. Black, along with Trial Attorneys Jennifer Bilinkas and David A. Peters from the DOJ’s Criminal Division Fraud Section.

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