Phoenix PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

You think your PPP case is about you. One application. One person. One investigation. If they come after you, they come after you alone. Your spouse didn't know. Your neighbor wasn't involved. You acted independently.

That's not how Phoenix works.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to tell you what other websites won't: in the District of Arizona, PPP fraud is a FAMILY affair. Married couples receive COMBINED sentences. Recruiters go down with everyone they helped. When the Colemans were sentenced, Jason got 60 months and Kimberly got 120 months - 15 years TOTAL for one household. When Sean Swaringer was caught, he didn't just face charges for his own fraud. He faced restitution for the 15+ loans he helped other people obtain through kickbacks.

And in Phoenix, the people who recruited you into PPP fraud weren't strangers. They were your neighbors. Your friends. Your family members. Every single one of them has an incentive to cooperate against you first.

Phoenix Fraud Is a Family Affair

Most federal districts prosecute PPP fraud individually. One defendant. One case. One sentence. Phoenix prosecutes FAMILIES.

Jason and Kimberly Coleman of Mesa submitted approximately 24 fraudulent PPP loan applications. Ten of those applications succeeded. They obtained more than $13 million in fraudulent funds. They were charged together on a 62-count indictment including Conspiracy, Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Transactional Money Laundering.

OK so what happens when a married couple commits fraud together? They get sentenced together. Kimberly Coleman recieved 120 months - that's 10 years in federal prison. Jason Coleman recieved 60 months - that's 5 years. Combined: 15 years of prison time for one household. One family. Both parents gone.

Heres something practitioners understand that the public dosent. When spouses commit fraud together, they become witnesses against each other. The spousal privilege that protects normal marital communications has exceptions for crimes. If Kimberly wanted to cooperate, she could testify about everything Jason said and did. If Jason wanted a better deal, he could provide evidence against Kimberly. Married couples facing federal charges often end up competing to see who can cooperate first.

Consider what this means for your situation. If your spouse signed any documents related to your PPP application - even as a "witness" - they're potentialy involved. If they deposited checks, made purchases, or had access to accounts containing PPP funds, they're connected to the conspiracy. "My spouse handled the paperwork" isn't a defense. It's an admission that your spouse is a co-conspirator.

The 10-year statute of limitations created by the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act of 2022 means prosecutors have time to build family cases methodicaly. Traditional fraud has a 5-year clock. PPP fraud has 10 years. If you applied in April 2020, your exposed until April 2030. If you applied for forgiveness in 2022, the clock starts from forgiveness. That means exposure until 2032. Prosecutors aren't rushing. They're building family conspiracy cases that include every spouse, every adult child, every relative who touched the money.

The Colemans didn't just lose their freedom. They lost their luxury vehicles. They lost their real estate. They lost their jewelry. Everything they purchased with PPP money became forfeiture. The government took it all. And they'll both be paying restitution for the rest of their lives - wages garnished, tax refunds intercepted, assets subject to seizure.

Your spouse's cooperation is your conviction. In family fraud cases, prosecutors love to offer one spouse a better deal in exchange for testimony against the other. The first spouse to cooperate gets the lighter sentence. The second spouse faces a family member as a prosecution witness.

The Recruitment Network Problem

Maybe you didn't apply for a PPP loan yourself. Maybe you just helped someone else with their application. Maybe you told a neighbor about the program. Maybe you introduced a friend to someone who knew how to get approvals.

In Phoenix, "helping" is called recruitment. And recruiters face the harshest sentences of all.

Sean Swaringer of Peoria didn't just commit PPP fraud on his own behalf. He recieved four fraudulent PPP loans totaling more then $1.5 million through two companies: Cryotherapy for Veterans and Cryoworld Therapy, LLC. But thats not what got him 121 months in federal prison.

What got Swaringer 121 months was recruitment. He recruited more then 10 individuals to apply for fraudulent PPP loans. He helped prepare and submit their applications. In exchange, he took kickbacks from their loan proceeds. Every person he helped became evidence against him. Every kickback was documented. Every application he assisted with was traceable.

Heres the math that destroyed Sean Swaringer. His own fraud was $1.5 million. His restitution was $3.8 million. The difference - $2.3 million - came from the kickbacks he recieved from the 15+ other PPP loans he helped facilitate. Prosecutors didn't just charge him for his own crimes. They charged him for EVERYONE he helped.

What this means practicaly is devastating. Every person you helped with their PPP application is now a potential witness against you. Every person who gave you money - even as a "thank you" or a "consulting fee" - created documented evidence of kickbacks. The FBI traced every transaction. The IRS Criminal Investigation matched every deposit. You might not remember everyone you helped. But prosecutors have records of everyone you touched.

Federal judges in the District of Arizona have shown no sympathy for recruiters. Sean Swaringer's 121-month sentence wasn't driven by his own $1.5 million fraud alone. It was driven by the scope of the network he created. Each person he recruited added to his criminal exposure. Each kickback he recieved added to his restitution. The more people you helped, the worse your sentence becomes. Recruiters aren't seen as helpful neighbors - they're seen as organizers of criminal enterprises.

And heres the part that makes recruitment especialy dangerous. Every person you recruited faces the same choice you do: cooperate or fight. When prosecutors offer them a deal - lighter sentence in exchange for testimony about who helped them apply - most people take it. Your name comes up. Now your the recruiter. Now your facing 121 months instead of 36.

The federal sentencing guidelines for fraud include enhancements for "leadership" and "organization." Recruiters automaticaly qualify. If you helped others apply, your not a minor participant. Your an organizer. Your sentence reflects everyone elses fraud, not just your own.

Everyone you recruited is now a witness against you. They have no loyalty. They have lawyers telling them to cooperate. They have families they want to return to. And the easiest way for them to go home is to give prosecutors the name of the person who recruited them.

When Nine People Are Charged Together

Federal prosecutors have a choice. They can charge defendants one at a time, building individual cases. Or they can charge groups together, creating pressure for everyone to flip on each other.

Phoenix consistantly chooses groups.

In December 2021, nine Phoenix-area residents were indicted together for PPP fraud totaling more then $23 million. Jason and Kimberly Coleman. Sean and Vanessa Swaringer. Willie Mitchell. Jason Nolte. Toni Richardson. Keenya Williams. Darrell Lieteau. Nine names on connected indictments. Nine people who would all become potential witnesses against each other.

Heres the math that should terrify you. Nine defendants. Eight potential cooperating witnesses against any single defendant. The first person to flip gets the best deal. The second person's information is worth less. By the eighth person, prosecutors already have everything they need. Your information is worthless.

Why charge groups instead of individuals? Becuase group indictments create a race to cooperate. Each defendant knows that someone in the group WILL talk. Each defendant has an incentive to talk first. The pressure is overwhelming. Most people break.

What this means for you is straightforward. If you're connected to anyone else through shared recruitment, shared methods, or shared applications, you're potentialy part of a group. The moment any member of that group gets charged, the race begins. You might not even know who else is in the group - you never met the people your recruiter also helped. But you're all connected, and the first one to cooperate exposes everyone.

Here's something specific to the Phoenix cases that practitioners notice. Jason Coleman got 60 months. Kimberly Coleman got 120 months. Same scheme. Same fraud amount. Same household. Double the sentence for one spouse. What explains that difference? Prosecutors don't say explicitly, but the pattern suggests cooperation differentials. One spouse talked. One spouse didn't. That decision was worth five years.

And the group included a former Phoenix police officer. Toni Richardson resigned shortly after the FBI began investigating her business practices. She was part of the same scheme, charged alongside everyone else. If a police officer isn't exempt from PPP prosecution, what makes you think you are?

The multi-agency investigation - FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, SBA Office of Inspector General - shared information across all nine defendants. Your name shows up in one file, it appears in all of them. Evidence from one defendant's case becomes evidence in everyone's case. The walls close from every direction simultaniously.

The recruitment angle makes Phoenix cases especialy complex. Sean Swaringer wasn't just charged for his own fraud. He was charged for the entire network he helped create. The Colemans weren't just charged as individuals. They were charged as a family enterprise. When prosecutors build network cases, they map every connection before making a single arrest. By the time you hear about charges, prosecutors already understand the entire structure. They know who recruited whom. They know who paid kickbacks to whom. They know who's likely to cooperate first.

What Phoenix Sentences Actually Look Like

Let me show you whats actualy happening in the District of Arizona right now. Not guidelines. Not hypotheticals. Real sentences from real cases.

Sean Swaringer - Peoria. Own fraud: $1.5 million. Recruited 10+ others. Kickbacks from 15+ loans. Sentence: 121 months (over 10 years). Restitution: $3.8 million. Plus 5 years supervised release.

Kimberly Coleman - Mesa. $13 million scheme with husband. 24 applications submitted, 10 successful. Sentence: 120 months (10 years). Purchases: Luxury vehicles, real estate, jewelry, vacations. All forfeited.

Willie Mitchell (aka Blu Mitchell) - Phoenix. 7 fraudulent PPP loans totaling $9,470,900. Sentence: 97 months (over 8 years). Purchases: Vehicle, multiple properties, vacations. All forfeited.

Jason Coleman - Mesa. Same scheme as Kimberly. Sentence: 60 months (5 years). The difference from his wife's sentence? Practitioners notice patterns.

Here's the pattern that should concern you. Every single one of these defendants was sentenced to 5 years supervised release AFTER their prison time. That means federal oversight for over a decade total. Probation officers. Regular check-ins. Restrictions on travel. Continuing restitution payments. The sentence doesn't end when prison ends.

And the restitution numbers are staggering. Sean Swaringer owes $3.8 million that he can't discharge in bankruptcy. He'll be paying it back for the rest of his life. The Colemans collectively owe everything they fraudulently obtained. Wages garnished. Assets seized. Tax refunds intercepted. Forever.

Heres something that surprises most people about federal sentencing in the District of Arizona. First-time offender status means less than you think. The federal sentencing guidelines for fraud are driven primarily by loss amount, not by your personal history. If you fraudulently obtained $1 million, that's a base offense level that puts you at 5-7 years before any adjustments. Add enhancements for leadership role, for sophistication, for using financial institutions - sentences climb rapidly.

The hope that being a first-time offender will save you from prison is not grounded in how Phoenix federal courts actualy operate. These defendants weren't career criminals. They were business people, neighbors, family members who made catastrophic decisions during COVID. First-time offender status didn't protect any of them. It won't protect you either.

The luxury purchases that seemed smart at the time became evidence at trial. Vehicles were seized. Properties were forfeited. Jewelry disappeared into government custody. Everything defendants bought with PPP money became Exhibit A through Z in their prosecutions. The performance of success in Phoenix became the proof of fraud.

Your Connection to the Scheme

You might think you acted alone. You didnt.

Think about everyone connected to your PPP application. The person who told you about the program. The person who helped with paperwork. The person who recieved a kickback or "referral fee." The person who deposited checks. The family member who signed as a witness. Every one of those connections creates network exposure.

If you helped anyone else apply - even just one person - your potentialy a recruiter. Sean Swaringer helped 10+ people and got 121 months. The number you helped doesn't change your legal exposure. It just changes how many witnesses exist against you.

Heres the part that makes Phoenix uniquely dangerous. The fraud scale was massive: 120,000 PPP loans worth $14.7 billion flowed into Arizona, plus 81,000 EIDL loans worth $7.6 billion. Combined: over $22 billion in pandemic relief funds. The investigation resources match that scale. FBI, IRS, HSI, SBA-OIG all working together. Every application is in a database. Every suspicious pattern is being analyzed.

And it's not just federal agencies. The nine Phoenix-area defendants were connected through shared methods, shared contacts, shared schemes. When Willie Mitchell was investigated, the trail led to Sean Swaringer. When Swaringer was investigated, the trail led to everyone he recruited. One investigation exposed an entire network.

Who might be under investigation right now? Your recruiter. Your preparer. The person who introduced you to the program. Any of them could be sitting in a room with prosecutors, deciding wheather to give up names. You have no control over their choices. But their choices determine your exposure.

And the family angle compounds everything. If your spouse was involved, you face combined liability. If your children were involved - even adult children - you face family-wide prosecution. The Swaringers were charged together: Sean and Vanessa, husband and wife. When prosecutors build family cases, entire households go to prison.

Why Acting Now Matters in Phoenix

The worst thing you can do is wait. In a group prosecution, waiting means losing leverage.

The difference between Jason Coleman's 60 months and Kimberly Coleman's 120 months? Something. Prosecutors dont explain sentencing differentials publicly, but practitioners recognize patterns. Cooperation timing. Information value. Who talked first.

The federal system is designed to reward cooperation, and family fraud cases make this dynamic especialy brutal. When two spouses face charges together, prosecutors can offer one a substantially better deal in exchange for testimony against the other. The first spouse to take that deal gets the lighter sentence. The second spouse faces their own family member on the witness stand. In the Coleman case, the 60-month difference between Jason and Kimberly's sentences tells a story prosecutors don't need to explain publicly.

Cooperation credit works like a first-mover advantage. The first person to cooperate gets the best deal. The second person's information is worth less - prosecutors already have some of what you know. By the fifth or sixth cooperator, they're offering scraps. By the time eight of nine defendants have talked, your information is worthless.

Think about what this means in practical terms. Pre-indictment cooperation - coming forward before your charged - can affect your bail conditions, your plea offer, AND your sentencing. Three separate leverage points that all get weaker with time. In the District of Arizona, the difference between early cooperation and late damage control can be 5 years or more. That's the gap between Jason Coleman and Kimberly Coleman. That's what timing is worth.

Someone in your network is considering cooperation right now. Your spouse is weighing options. Your recruiter is talking to lawyers. The person you helped with their application is evaluating exposure. Every day you wait, your information becomes less valuable becuase someone else is providing it first.

At Spodek Law Group, Todd Spodek has handled hundreds of federal fraud cases. The clients who call before the subpoena have options. Voluntary disclosure. Cooperation agreements. Structured restitution. The clients who call after the subpoena arrives are fighting for survival.

Call 212-300-5196 before your family member cooperates first. Not becuase we're trying to scare you into hiring a lawyer. Becuase in Phoenix, with family prosecutions and recruitment networks and nine-person indictments, waiting is the most dangerous choice you can make.

Spodek Law Group. The Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway Suite 710, New York. We put this information on our website becuase most people have no idea how exposed they realy are when family members are involved. Our goal isnt to frighten you. Its to make sure you understand that Phoenix dosent just prosecute individuals - it prosecutes families. And your family might be cooperating against you right now.

In Phoenix, your family's cooperation is your conviction.