Crime & Safety
Area Man Tried 'Lining His Pockets' With $22M In Fraud Loans: FBI
East Bay resident applied for loans from Paycheck Protection Program on behalf of Hercules nonprofit & other organizations, officials said.
RICHMOND, CA — A 48-year-old Richmond man has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with bank fraud in connection with an alleged scheme to obtain illegally more than $22 million dollars in loans through the U.S. government's Paycheck Protection Program, federal law enforcement officials said Friday.
Attila Colar, who also has gone by several aliases, made his initial federal court appearance on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore.
The U.S. Department of Justice office in San Francisco said Colar faces charges involving the alleged submittal of three applications spanning April, May and June 2020 on behalf of Hercules-based nonprofit All Hands on Deck, Inc., which purports to provide housing "to men getting out of prison, food bank services, life and work skills, trainings, resiliency treatment services, prenatal life skills, and a variety of necessary know-hows to survive in today's society."
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Colar received over $1.1 million from one of those loans, the DOJ alleges.
Separately, the federal complaint alleges that six other applications were submitted in that same time period on behalf of two other entities linked to Colar — The Family Investment Group, Inc. and Oversight Security, Inc. The complaint describes how the loan applications are "rife
with false information, misleading statements, and glaring omissions," the DOJ said.
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"Based on the FBI's investigation, Mr. Colar appears to have illegally used the Paycheck Protection Program to attempt to fraudulently line his own pockets," FBI Special Agent in Charge Bennett said in a statement. "The FBI is quickly and carefully investigating all claims of PPP fraud to ensure that American businesses aren't further victimized during this challenging time."
The PPP is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering adverse economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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-- Bay City News