Posted on: February 28, 2025 10:15 AM

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Mount vernon native sentenced to 11 years in prison for orchestrating USD7 6 million COVID 19 fraud scheme

According to the Indictment, publics filings, public court proceedings and filings, and the evidence presented at trial and in connection with sentencing:

The SBA is a federal agency of the Executive Branch that administers assistance to American small businesses. This assistance includes making direct loans to applicants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program.  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress expanded SBA’s EIDL Program to provide small businesses with low-interest loans of up to $2 million prior to in or about May 2020 and up to $150,000 beginning in or about May 2020, in order to provide vital economic support to help overcome the loss of revenue small businesses are experiencing due to COVID-19.  Applicants seeking a loan under the EIDL program were also now permitted to request and receive an advance of approximately $1,000 per employee, for an amount up to $10,000, which the SBA has generally provided while the loan application was pending.

From March through July 2020, CARTER and co-defendants Quadri Salahuddin, Anwar Salahuddin, and Crystal Ransom, used the identities of more than 1,000 other individuals (the “Applicants”) to submit more than 1,000 online applications to the SBA, seeking over $10 million of funds through the SBA’s EIDL Program (the “EIDL Applications”). In connection with the EIDL Applications, CARTER, Quadri Salahuddin, Anwar Salahuddin, and Ransom falsely represented to the SBA that the Applicants were the owners of businesses with 10 or more employees.  However, that was a lie – the individuals did not own businesses or employ people.  Based on the fraudulent EIDL Applications, the SBA made advance payments of more than $7.6 million to the Applicants, who then kicked back a portion of the advance payments to CARTER, Quadri Salahuddin, Anwar Salahuddin, and Ransom.  After the defendants collected millions of dollars in kickback payments, CARTER took photographs of his stacks of cash, purchased expensive jewelry, and leased a Lamborghini.

In addition to the prison term, CARTER, 39, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.  CARTER was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,737,000 to the SBA and forfeiture in the amount of $1,720,950.

Ransom pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced on April 24, 2024, to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release with the first six months under home confinement. The Court also ordered that Ransom pay restitution in the amount of $7,577,000 to the SBA and forfeiture in the amount of $99,000. Quadri Salahuddin and Anwar Salahuddin are scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, 2025.

Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

From DOJ