Jacksonville EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers

Jacksonville EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers

You got the letter — the one from the SBA Office of Inspector General — and your stomach dropped. Or maybe FBI agents showed up at your Jacksonville business asking questions about your Economic Injury Disaster Loan application from 2020 or 2021. You’re terrified because you know the application contained some inaccuracies, maybe you inflated employee numbers or overstated revenue to qualify for a larger loan, and now you’re realizing those “small adjustments” might be federal crimes. You’re not alone — the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida has charged over 100 defendants with COVID-19 relief fraud, seeking to prosecute schemes totaling over $96 million, and they’re not slowing down. Just this past April 2025, Timothy Craig Jolloff was sentenced to 97 months — that’s over 8 years — in federal prison after he and his wife Lisa submitted eleven fraudulent EIDL loans and eight PPP loans totaling $3.4 million in the Middle District of Florida, the same federal court that handles Jacksonville cases. Lisa Jolloff received 36 months for her role in the scheme. That same month, Kevin Aguilar was sentenced to 192 months — that’s 16 years — for obtaining $3.77 million in fraudulent COVID relief loans including EIDL funds.

In September 2024, Diop McKenzie from Cape Coral, Florida received 45 months in federal prison for just $117,832 in fraudulent EIDL and PPP loans. The pattern is clear: federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Florida are aggressively pursuing EIDL fraud cases, and the sentences are measured in years, not months.

Who’s Actually Building This Case?

That SBA Office of Inspector General letter. FBI agents at your door. Everything changes right then.

You’re no longer dealing with a civil audit — you’re potentially facing federal criminal charges investigated by the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and IRS Criminal Investigation. These agencies have spent the past several years developing expertise in pandemic relief fraud, they know the common schemes, they know what documentation to subpoena, and they have forensic accountants who can trace every dollar of your EIDL funds through your bank accounts to determine whether you spent the money on legitimate business expenses or personal items like boats, real estate, vehicles, and luxury goods. Here’s what most Jacksonville business owners don’t realize until it’s too late: anything you say to investigators during these initial contacts can and will be used against you in federal court. The agents who show up at your business aren’t there to help you explain innocent mistakes — they’re building a criminal case, and every statement you make without counsel is evidence for the prosecution.

Before you talk to investigators, before you try to explain the discrepancies in your application, before you hand over additional documentation, you need a Jacksonville federal criminal defense attorney who understands how these EIDL investigations develop and how the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida evaluates these cases for prosecution. The Middle District of Florida has already forfeited over $20 million in fraudulent pandemic relief funds, meaning federal prosecutors have the resources, the expertise, and the institutional commitment to pursue these cases aggressively.

They’re not going away. The investigation isn’t going to quietly disappear. And hoping the problem resolves itself is the worst strategy possible.

When Survival Becomes a Crime

Most Jacksonville business owners who are now facing EIDL fraud investigations didn’t think of themselves as criminals — they thought they were doing what was necessary to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. But federal prosecutors don’t see desperate survival decisions, they see violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, the wire fraud statute that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, or 30 years if the fraud affected a financial institution. They see violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which criminalizes false statements to the Small Business Administration and carries a maximum penalty of 30 years and a $1 million fine. The cases from the Middle District of Florida show exactly where the line is between innocent mistakes and federal criminal charges — and that line is intent and materiality.

Timothy and Lisa Jolloff found that line when they submitted EIDL applications from April 2020 to March 2021 that misrepresented employee counts, payroll expenses, and revenues. Federal prosecutors proved they knowingly provided false information to obtain larger loan amounts, then used the $3.4 million to purchase pontoon boats exceeding $300,000, real estate in Florida and Indiana, vehicles, jewelry, and two businesses. Timothy received 97 months, Lisa received 36 months, and they were ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution to the SBA. The sentencing disparity between them illustrates an important point: federal judges consider your role in the scheme, whether you were the primary actor or a secondary participant, and that calculation can mean the difference between 3 years and 8 years in federal prison.

Diop McKenzie from Cape Coral shows how additional charges can dramatically increase your exposure. McKenzie submitted fraudulent applications using another individual’s identity without authorization. The fraud amount was relatively small — $117,832 total — but because he used someone else’s identity, federal prosecutors charged him with aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence.

He received 45 months total and was ordered to forfeit $117,832. Federal prosecutors focus on two questions when evaluating EIDL applications: Did you knowingly provide false information? And would the SBA have approved your loan if they knew the truth? If you inflated your revenue to qualify for a larger loan, that’s material fraud. If you claimed 10 employees when you actually had 2, that’s material fraud. If you spent EIDL funds on a boat or luxury vehicle instead of payroll and business expenses, federal prosecutors will argue that proves your fraudulent intent from the beginning.

What Happens While You’re Frozen with Anxiety

While you’re frozen with anxiety wondering if you’re going to be charged, federal investigators are systematically building their case. The typical timeline from initial contact to charging decision is 6 to 18 months, and every day during that period, investigators are gathering evidence. They’re subpoenaing your bank records from every account connected to your business and personal finances. They’re interviewing your accountant, your business partners, your employees, anyone who touched your EIDL application. They’re having forensic accountants create detailed spreadsheets showing every deposit and withdrawal, tracing EIDL funds from the moment they hit your account to every purchase you made. They’re pulling your tax returns from the IRS for the years before and after you received EIDL funds, comparing your reported revenue on loan applications to your reported revenue on tax returns, looking for discrepancies that prove you knowingly provided false information.

This investigation phase is actually your best opportunity to affect the outcome — but only if you have a Jacksonville federal criminal defense attorney who knows how to work proactively with the U.S. Attorney’s Office before charges are filed.

We’ve seen cases — many, many cases — where the difference between federal prison and a civil settlement comes down to what happens during these months. If your attorney can demonstrate lack of criminal intent, show that discrepancies were based on good-faith mistakes rather than deliberate fraud, negotiate voluntary restitution before charges are filed, or present mitigating evidence about your circumstances during COVID-19, there’s sometimes a path to resolve the matter civilly without criminal prosecution. But that window closes the moment an indictment is filed — once federal prosecutors have invested the resources to present your case to a grand jury and obtain an indictment, they’re committed to prosecution.

Angela Chew’s case illustrates how much federal investigators know about EIDL fraud schemes. Chew worked as an SBA loan specialist in Leesburg, Florida, and federal prosecutors proved she used her position to internally access and approve at least six fraudulent EIDL loan applications totaling over $800,000. A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted her in September 2024 on conspiracy to bribe a public official and commit wire fraud, three counts of bribery of a public official, and six counts of wire fraud. Even SBA insiders who facilitated fraud are being prosecuted.

How the Prison Math Actually Works

Let me be blunt about something most attorneys won’t say: if you’re charged with EIDL fraud in the Middle District of Florida, you’re probably not going to win at trial. Over 90% of federal criminal cases end in guilty pleas, and the conviction rate for cases that do go to trial exceeds 95%. Your Jacksonville federal criminal defense attorney’s primary job isn’t to convince you that you’re going to win at trial — it’s to negotiate the best possible plea agreement that minimizes your federal prison time, reduces your restitution obligations, and preserves whatever assets and future you can salvage from this situation.

Federal sentencing for EIDL fraud is calculated using U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 2B1.1, which starts with a base offense level and then adds enhancements based on the loss amount, number of victims, whether you used sophisticated means, and whether you were in a leadership role. The loss amount is the single biggest driver of your sentencing range — fraud involving $95,000 to $150,000 adds 12 levels to your base offense level, fraud involving $550,000 to $1.5 million adds 14 levels, fraud involving $1.5 million to $3.5 million adds 16 levels, and fraud involving $3.5 million to $9.5 million adds 18 levels.

Each level increase represents approximately 6 additional months in federal prison.

The cases from the Middle District of Florida show how this sentencing math plays out in real life. Diop McKenzie’s $117,832 fraud resulted in 45 months — that’s nearly 4 years for what some people would call a relatively small EIDL fraud. Lisa Jolloff received 36 months as a secondary participant in a $3.4 million scheme, while her husband Timothy received 97 months as the primary actor. Abraham Park orchestrated a $12 million EIDL fraud scheme involving over 120 fraudulent applications, but received only 46 months at age 67 in August 2025, likely because his age and cooperation resulted in a substantial downward variance from the guidelines calculation. Darryl Duanne Young received 78 months in September 2024 for a $4.8 million scheme. And Kevin Aguilar received 192 months — 16 years — for a $3.77 million fraud that included money laundering and aggravated identity theft charges.

The biggest sentencing reduction available is acceptance of responsibility — if you plead guilty early in the process and take responsibility for your conduct, you can receive a 2 or 3 level reduction in your offense level, which typically translates to 12 to 24 months less prison time. This is why early negotiation through your Jacksonville federal criminal defense attorney is so critical.

Beyond prison time, you’re facing full restitution to the SBA for every dollar of fraudulent EIDL funds you received. If you got $500,000 in EIDL loans through fraud, you’re paying back $500,000 whether you still have the money or not — and that restitution obligation survives bankruptcy. The government will also seek forfeiture of any assets purchased with fraud proceeds: your house, your vehicles, your business, your bank accounts.

The Catastrophic Mistake Most People Make

Some Jacksonville business owners make the catastrophic mistake of talking to federal investigators without counsel, thinking they can explain away the discrepancies in their EIDL application or convince agents that any false information was just an honest mistake.

These conversations almost always make your situation worse — investigators are trained interrogators who know how to ask questions that lock you into specific statements, then use your own words against you when documents contradict what you’ve said. Once you’ve given a statement to federal agents, you can’t take it back — if you later remember events differently or want to change your story, prosecutors will use your inconsistent statements as evidence of consciousness of guilt and obstruction of justice.

The better approach is to immediately retain a Jacksonville federal criminal defense attorney who can assess whether there’s a path to civil resolution before criminal charges are filed. In some cases — not all, but some — EIDL matters can be resolved through voluntary disclosure programs, full restitution of fraudulently obtained funds, civil penalties, and cooperation with the investigation, without criminal prosecution. But these resolutions only happen when defense counsel acts proactively, before an indictment forces the government to commit to criminal prosecution. Once you’re indicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has invested substantial resources in your case and is unlikely to dismiss charges even if you offer full restitution.

Here’s what I tell every Jacksonville client in this situation — you need to understand your realistic exposure and options, and you need that information from someone who has actually handled EIDL fraud cases in federal court, not from Google searches or advice from friends who don’t understand federal criminal procedure. The consultation with a federal criminal defense attorney is protected by attorney-client privilege, which means you can finally talk honestly about your situation — what information on your EIDL application was inaccurate, how you used the funds, what documentation you have or don’t have — without fear that your statements will be reported to authorities or used against you. That honest assessment is the foundation for developing a defense strategy, whether that strategy focuses on avoiding criminal charges entirely through civil resolution, negotiating reduced charges and sentencing exposure through early plea negotiations, or preparing for trial if no acceptable plea agreement can be reached.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group — a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We’ve handled federal fraud cases for many, many years, and we understand the difference between what federal prosecutors threaten and what they can actually prove in court. We know how the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida evaluates EIDL cases for prosecution, what mitigating factors can result in reduced charges or sentencing recommendations, and how to position your case for the best possible outcome whether that’s civil resolution, favorable plea agreement, or trial.

If you’re facing an EIDL fraud investigation in Jacksonville or anywhere in the Middle District of Florida, call 212-300-5196 for a confidential consultation. Every day you wait is a day federal investigators are building their case — let us start building your defense.