NJ Man Sentenced For $1.6M COVID-19 Loan Fraud Scheme

A man from Somerset County has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining $1.6 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Insurance Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.

32-year-old Jordan C. Larkins of Somerset previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of money laundering.

According to U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger's office,

From May 2020 through July 2020, Larkins perpetrated a scheme to defraud PPP lenders and the SBA by submitting three fraudulent PPP loan applications to three different lenders and 11 fraudulent EIDL applications to SBA. The fraudulent applications resulted in a total loss of $1.64 million to the lenders and the SBA. Larkins misused the funds by, among other things, transferring funds to a foreign bank and paying various personal expenses.

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In addition to the prison term, Larkins was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to repay the $1.64 million.

Sellinger credited the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, special agents of the IRS, and special agents of the Social Security Administration with the investigation that lead to Wednesday's sentencing.