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A Hull man was sentenced to two years in prison for submitting fraudulent documentation to receive pandemic-related U.S. Small Business Administration loans.

Shane Spierdowis, 31, was sentenced in Boston federal court yesterday to two years in prison and two years of supervised release. Spierdowis had pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said Spierdowis used multiple shell companies and forged bank records to fraudulently apply for and obtain a Paycheck Protection Program loan and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

Spierdowis used Social Security numbers different from his own, as well as fraudulent documents, to open bank accounts for his shell companies, according to the statement. He also provided a fraudulent corporate bank statement that showed a balance of more than $220,000 but was dated before the bank account had been opened.

As a result, Spierdowis received a PPP loan of $101,517 for one of his shell companies, the statement said, and the funds were wired to a bank in Massachusetts. Spierdowis also obtained an EIDL in the amount of $89,900 using a separate shell company.

Prosecutors also said Spierdowis submitted fraudulent federal tax forms for both shell companies that included his signature as the president of each company, and the purported payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in employee wages during each quarter in 2019. But for part of the first quarter of 2019 and the remaining quarters of the year, Spierdowis was in federal custody after violating his probation related to a federal conviction for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, the statement said.

Hull Man Sentenced for PPP, EIDL Fraud

by Banker & Tradesman time to read: 1 min
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