EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — A Scranton man has been charged with fraud of $850,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 42-year-old Yoel Weiss from Scranton was indicted on 41 counts of wire fraud, identity theft, unlawful cash transactions, witness tampering, and false statements to the Small Business Administration.
U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam stated Weiss allegedly filed at least seven fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds through the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan Program.
The release explains the application allegedly submitted by Weiss was filed on behalf of corporate entities that did not have actual business operations and made false dates of businessestablishment, false employee headcount information, fabricated gross revenues, costs ofgoods sold, and lost rental income.
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U.S. Attorney Karam said Weiss obtained $850,000 in EIDL funds from filing fraudulent applications.
Weiss was charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, for using stolen identities, and 23 counts of making unlawful monetary transactions, officials say.
Weiss is also being charged with witness tampering after an attempt to influence and prevent a witness testimony, U.S. Attorney Karam added.
The maximum penalty for the most serious charges is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Aggravated identity theft is a mandatory two-year sentence of imprisonment.
