NEW HAVEN, Conn. — An accountant from Woodbridge has been charged by federal complaint with offenses stemming from his alleged scheme to defraud a COVID-19 pandemic relief program of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut on Tuesday alleged that Yasir G. Hamed, 59, committed bank fraud, wire fraud and engaged in illegal monetary transactions.
Hamed was arrested on Nov. 13. He appeared before a judge in New Haven and was released on a $500,000 bond.
In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, was established to provide emergency financial help to Americans who were negatively impacted by the economic effects of the pandemic.
One source of relief that the CARES Act provided was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.
The PPP was supervised by the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA, and individual PPP loans were given to private lenders, who received and processed PPP applications and supporting documents. They then made loans using the lenders’ own funds, which the SBA guaranteed.
Court documents and statements made in court revealed that Hamed had an ownership interest or representative relationship with multiple businesses in New Haven. Prosecutors said that between June 2020 and September 2021, Hamed submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of the companies.
Hamed allegedly overstated employee numbers and average monthly payroll and made other false representations. Prosecutors said that as part of the applications, Hamed submitted false tax filings that had never been filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
Prosecutors noted that Hamed submitted PPP loan applications for companies owned by his clients. At least once, Hamed allegedly convinced a business owner to seek PPP funding even though he knew the business was not active and had no employees. According to prosecutors, Hamed prepared the paperwork for the PPP application and took a large amount of the loan proceeds.
Through this scheme, Hamed allegedly received more than $700,000 in loan proceeds for himself and his family, as well receiving major kickbacks from his clients. Prosecutors said Hamed used the funds for personal expenses such as tuition fees for a family member and a downpayment on a $880,000 house in Woodbridge he purchased in October 2020.
The federal complaint charges Hamed with bank fraud, which could send him to jail for up to 30 years. It also charges him with wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and engaging in illegal monetary transactions, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The U.S. Attorney emphasized that a complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt, noting that charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the IRS – Criminal Investigation.
People with information about allegations of fraud connected to pandemic relief monies can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form here.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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