New York City PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers
You took out a PPP loan in 2020. Maybe 2021. Everyone in New York did. The government was handing out money to any business that could fill out an application. You got approved, used the funds, maybe even got forgiveness. Years went by. You assumed the worst was over.
You assumed wrong.
The federal government turned PPP loan fraud prosecution into a machine - and New York City sits at the center of that machine. The Southern District of New York handles Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester. The Eastern District handles Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island. Together, these two districts prosecute more federal white-collar crime than anywhere else in the country. And they've made PPP fraud a priority.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal PPP loan fraud defense throughout New York City - in both SDNY and EDNY. If you're under investigation, if you've received a letter from the SBA Office of Inspector General, or if federal agents have shown up asking questions - you need to understand exactly what you're facing.
NYC Is the Federal Prosecution Capital
The Southern District of New York isn't just another federal court. SDNY is where they prosecuted Bernie Madoff. Where they took down Michael Cohen. Where hedge fund managers and corporate executives face the most aggressive federal prosecutors in the country.
Those same prosecutors now handle PPP fraud cases.
What does that mean for you? It means the office that built its reputation on complex financial fraud is now applying that expertise to pandemic relief fraud. The investigative techniques. The prosecution strategies. The relentless attention to detail. All of it focused on PPP loans.
SDNY has an 88% indictment rate. When prosecutors there decide to bring a case, they almost always get it through the grand jury. The juries in Manhattan are prosecution-friendly. Defense attorneys know this. The conviction rate reflects it.
The Eastern District of New York covers Brooklyn and Queens - and theyve been equally aggressive. EDNY handles some of the highest-volume federal prosecution in the nation. Between the two districts, New York City faces more PPP fraud prosecutions then almost anywhere else.
Congress extended the statute of limitations from 5 years to 10 years in August 2022. They did it retroactively. A PPP loan from 2020 is prosecutable until 2030. A loan from 2021 until 2031. The government gave itself a decade. And in New York City, there using it.
The Cases Already Happening Here
This isn't theoretical. Real people in New York are facing real federal charges right now.
Leon Miles, Brooklyn. Sentenced to 72 months federal prison for $1.9 million in PPP fraud. The government seized his 2020 Bentley. Ordered restitution of $598,299.39. Six years in federal prison. All from PPP applications.
NYPD Detectives John Bolden and Anthony Carreira. Fraud investigators by profession. Charged in August 2024 with PPP fraud conspiracy. They helped more then 65 individuals submit fraudulent applications through a tax preparation business. Created fictitious IRS Schedule C documents. Detectives whose job was to investigate fraud - became defendants in a fraud case themselves.
If law enforcement officers can be prosecuted for PPP fraud, what makes you think your immune?
Six family members indicted together in Brooklyn in November 2025. A PPP fraud conspiracy involving fictitious businesses. Two also charged with pandemic unemployment benefits theft. The government dosent just prosecute individuals - they target entire networks. Your accountant who helped prepare the application. Your family members who were involved. Everyone becomes a potential co-defendant.
A Brooklyn man indicted in July 2025 for stealing $104,000 in COVID relief funds. Applied in April 2020. Recieved funds in March 2021. Four years later, facing federal charges.
The SDNY recidivist case might be the most alarming. 25 years federal prison for a $10 million+ PPP fraud scheme. Its among the longest PPP-related sentences in the country. The defendant had prior fraud convictions, which made it worse. But 25 years. In a federal case that started as pandemic relief fraud.
The Math That Keeps You Up at Night
According to Pandemic Oversight, as of December 31, 2024:
- 3,096 defendants charged with pandemic relief fraud nationwide
- 2,532 convicted (82%)
- 1,741 received prison time (81% of those convicted)
- 2,008 ordered restitution (94%)
- Prison sentences ranged from 1 day to 30 years
81% got prison. Not probation. Not home confinement. Prison.
More then 440 defendants were ordered to pay $1 million or more in restitution. Amounts reached as high as $71 million. And investigation timelines have accelerated - what used to take 8-12 months from referral to indictment now takes 4-6 months. The government has gotten faster.
The sentencing cliff is real. Defendants sentenced in 2024-2025 are recieving sentences aproximately 40% longer then defendants who committed identical conduct but were sentenced in 2021-2022. Early pandemic leniency is gone. Federal judges now include prison time in nearly every PPP fraud sentencing.
$21,000.
Thats the amount in a Cincinnati case. March 2025. The defendant got 18 months federal prison. For $21,000. The amount dosent protect you. The government wants headlines. They want deterrence. They want everyone who committed PPP fraud to see these sentences and lose sleep.
If you took $50,000 or $500,000 or $5 million - you face the same fundamental problem. Federal prosecutors have made PPP fraud a priority in New York. There not showing mercy based on loan size.
The Window You Don't Know Exists
Heres what practitioners know that most articles wont tell you.
Theres a window - typically six to twelve months - between when the SBA OIG flags a loan for review and when the case gets referred to the FBI for criminal investigation. During this window, there is leverage that completley disappears once criminal charges are filed.
During the OIG review stage, a skilled defense attorney may be able to negotiate a civil disposition. Repayment plus a fine. Maybe a False Claims Act settlement. Not pleasant. But not a federal felony conviction either. Not prison. Not the destruction of everything youve built.
But the window is narrow and its closing.
The repayment trap. Some people panic and voluntarily repay the loan thinking it makes the problem disappear. The DOJ has explicitly stated that voluntary repayment can be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Returning the money without counsel can actualy strengthen the government's case against you. Its counterintuitive. Its also true.
This is complicated. The timing matters enormously. Whether to repay, when to repay, how to structure any resolution - these decisions require counsel who understands how federal prosecutors in SDNY and EDNY think.
Todd Spodek has handled PPP fraud cases in both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He understands the difference between OIG-stage investigations where civil resolution may still be possible, and FBI-stage investigations where criminal defense becomes the priority.
When Your Ready
If you're in New York City - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island - and you're facing a PPP loan fraud investigation, Spodek Law Group can help you understand where you stand and what options might still exist.
The consultation is free. Theirs no obligation.
What you'll get is an honest assessment. Is this still at the OIG stage where civil resolution might be possible? Has it been referred to the FBI? What does your exposure actually look like? What are realistic outcomes - not best-case fantasies, but actual possibilities based on how these cases play out in SDNY and EDNY?
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.
Were here when you need us.
