Posted on: November 23, 2024 03:30 PM

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Jamaica man charged with defrauding federal disaster relief program with bogus claims of economic harm due to Covid

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Humayun Kabir has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in pandemic relief funds intended to help workers and small business owners suffering hardship due to COVID-19. The defendant allegedly applied for a federal Payroll Protection Program loan and an Economic Injury Disaster loan, certifying that he needed the funds due to economic harm he suffered as a driver for Uber and Lyft. The money was then used to purchase residential properties in Niagara Falls.

DA Katz said: “The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted profound challenges on millions of workers and small business owners who were unable to sustain their livelihoods. The defendant is accused of exploiting essential lifeline programs provided by our federal government for his own personal gain. My office will aggressively prosecute people who defraud our public service programs. I thank our partners at Homeland Security Investigations New York, the New York State Department of Financial Services and the NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force for helping us to bring the defendant to justice.”

Kabir, 53, of Jamaica, was arraigned last night on a nine-count criminal complaint charging him with grand larceny in the second degree, three counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, two counts of grand larceny in the third degree and three counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

An extensive review of bank records showed that Kabir allegedly transferred $246,966 in loan funds he received from SBA to purchase three residential properties in Niagara Falls. The case was referred to the District Attorney’s office in January 2024 for further investigation and enforcement.

From DA