Hennepin County PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers
You got a PPP loan during the pandemic. Maybe in 2020 when everything was chaos. Maybe in 2021 when the second round opened up. You've seen the Minnesota fraud headlines - Feeding Our Future, the $250 million scandal, federal prosecutors charging dozens of defendants. You assumed that's about big nonprofit schemes, not your business loan.
Those headlines are hiding something worse.
Minnesota is ground zero for federal PPP fraud enforcement - and Hennepin County is directly in the crosshairs. The SBA has specifically flagged 13,600 PPP loans in this state totaling $430 million as suspected fraud. That's the largest state-specific targeted investigation in the country. Congress extended the statute of limitations to 10 years. Your 2020 loan is prosecutable until 2030. The window between SBA flagging and FBI criminal referral is 6-12 months - and that window is your only leverage.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal PPP loan fraud defense in Hennepin County and throughout the District of Minnesota. If you're under investigation, if you've received contact from the SBA Office of Inspector General, or if federal agents have shown up at your business - this article explains exactly what you're facing and what realistic options exist.
Minnesota Is Ground Zero for Federal PPP Enforcement
In August 2022, President Biden signed the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act. Most people didn't notice what it actualy did.
It extended the statute of limitations from 5 years to 10 years - retroactively.
That means a PPP loan from April 2020 is prosecutable until April 2030. A loan from 2021 until 2031. If you submitted a forgiveness application in December 2021 with any false information, prosecutors have until December 2031 to charge you. The government gave itself a full decade to come for you. And there using every bit of it.
Most people miss this part: The Feeding Our Future scandal brought massive federal attention to Minnesota fraud. U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger made pandemic fraud prosecution a priority - and the same office that charged 70 defendants in Feeding Our Future is the same office reviewing PPP loan applications from across the state. The spotlight that caught the $250 million nonprofit scheme has expanded to every pandemic relief program in Minnesota. That includes your PPP loan.
The District of Minnesota covers all of Hennepin County. Federal cases are prosecuted in Minneapolis. The judges who sentenced Feeding Our Future defendants to 10, 17, and even 21 years in prison are the same judges who will handle PPP fraud cases. Judge Nancy Brasel. Judge Eric Tostrud. There not inclined toward leniency.
The Numbers Behind the Crackdown
The SBA didn't just flag a few suspicious loans in Minnesota.
According to CBS Minnesota, the Small Business Administration identified 13,600 PPP loans in Minnesota totaling $430 million as suspected fraud. They suspended 6,900 borrowers for 7,900 loans worth approximately $400 million. This is the largest state-specific PPP fraud investigation in the country.
If you recieved a PPP loan in Minnesota, your file has been reviewed.
Heres the national context from Pandemic Oversight: As of December 31, 2024, 3,096 defendants have been charged with pandemic relief fraud nationwide. 2,532 have been found guilty - thats an 82% conviction rate. Of those convicted, 1,741 recieved prison time. Thats 81%. The IRS Criminal Investigation division has achieved a 97.4% conviction rate in prosecuted COVID fraud cases.
The SBA suspension isn't just administrative inconvenience. Its a targeting mechanism. Suspended borrowers cant refinance. Cant get new SBA loans. Cant operate normally. Meanwhile, investigators review files and select cases for criminal referral. By the time you realize your suspended, the investigation has already been running for months.
More then 2,000 defendants have been ordered to pay restitution. Amounts have reached $71 million. Over 440 defendants were ordered to pay $1 million or more. This isn't small-time prosecution - this is an industrial enforcement operation.
What Happens When They Come for You
The sentencing cliff is real. Defendants sentenced in 2024-2025 are recieving sentences approximately 40% longer than defendants who committed identical conduct but were sentenced in 2021-2022. Early pandemic leniency is completley over. Federal judges in 2025 include prison time in nearly every PPP fraud sentencing - regardless of the amount involved.
Take Tezzaree El-Amin Champion. Minneapolis. He ran a consulting firm called Futuristic Management that contracted with Hennepin County under a COVID relief program. According to the DOJ, Champion submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications, billed the county for work not performed, and recieved kickbacks. In November 2025, Judge Katherine Menendez sentenced him to 84 months in federal prison - thats seven years - plus $3.48 million in restitution. The judge called his conduct "relentless" and noted its "scale and depth that is disturbing."
Or the Eden Prairie defendant. He recieved approximately $1.64 million in COVID relief funds through fraudulent applications. When he learned he was under investigation, he fled to Colombia. Law enforcement tracked him down, deported him back to the United States, and prosecuted him. November 2024: over seven years in federal prison for COVID relief fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.
One PPP application can trigger multiple federal charges:
- Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) - 20-30 years
- Bank Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344) - 30 years
- False Statements to SBA (18 U.S.C. § 1014) - 30 years
- Money Laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1956) - 20 years
- Aggravated Identity Theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028A) - mandatory +2 years consecutive
Theoretical exposure: over 100 years. In practice, sentences don't reach that level - but charge stacking gives prosecutors enormous leverage in plea negotiations.
"Do people go to prison for small PPP loans?"
Yes. A Cincinnati defendant got 18 months for $21,000 in PPP fraud. March 2025. The amount doesn't protect you.
How to Protect Yourself Now
The single most important rule:
Never agree to discuss a potential PPP fraud case with a federal agent without a lawyer present.
This sounds obvious. But there have been several cases where people who talked to investigators without counsel ended up charged with obstruction or making false statements to federal agents - in addition to the underlying PPP fraud. The agents seem friendly. Cooperative. They're not on your side.
If you're under investigation or concerned you might be:
- Don't destroy any documents. Document destruction can become a separate federal charge.
- Don't discuss the matter with others who may be involved. Those conversations can be used against you.
- Don't make voluntary payments to the SBA without counsel. The DOJ has stated that voluntary repayment can be used as evidence of "consciousness of guilt."
- Contact a federal defense attorney immediately. The earlier you act, the more options exist.
This is complicated. There's a window - typically six to twelve months - between when SBA OIG flags a loan and when the case gets referred to the FBI for criminal investigation. During this window, civil disposition may still be possible. Repayment plus a fine. Maybe a False Claims Act settlement. Not pleasant, but not seven years in federal prison either.
Todd Spodek has handled PPP fraud cases in the District of Minnesota. He understands the difference between OIG-stage investigations where civil resolution may be possible, and FBI-stage investigations where criminal defense is the only priority.
When You're Ready
If you're in Hennepin County - or anywhere in Minnesota - and you're facing a PPP loan fraud investigation, Spodek Law Group can help you understand where you stand and what options exist.
The consultation is free. There's no obligation.
What you'll get is an honest assessment. Is this still at the OIG stage? Has it been referred to the FBI? What does the evidence look like? What are realistic outcomes - not best-case fantasies, but actual possibilities based on how these cases are playing out in the District of Minnesota right now?
Call us at 212-300-5196. The statute of limitations runs until 2030 or 2031 depending on when you got the loan. The government has time. But once they move, things happen fast. The earlier you have counsel, the more leverage exists.
Don't wait until federal agents show up at your door.
We're here when you need us.
