US: Indian Charged With Fraud Of 10mn In COVID-19 Relief

Shashank Rai, a 30-year-old Indian American engineer is charged with fraud of 10mn dollars in the US with fraudulent applications for loans in US’s small business loans as a part of COVID-19 relief.

Trump administration launched the Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) with around 649 billion dollars to help the small businesses suffering from losses due to the shutdown in the pandemic. The Indian-American Shashank Rai reportedly filed false claims like 250 employees with a monthly payroll of $4 million and applied for a 10mn loan from a bank in Texas.

There were no records of his employees and he will be facing the charges that include bank fraud and false statements to the federal agency. The primary investigation acquired proof from the garbage outside Shashank Rai’s residence, which has his handwritten notes about an investment plan for 3 million dollars.

The officials found no employees neither any revenue in the last quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. Federal prosecutor Joseph Brown asserted that the people who have been submitting the applications should understand that their representations will be checked.