Middlesex Co. Biz Owner Gets Over 3 Years In Prison For $3.2M Federal Fraud

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — A Middlesex County business owner was sentenced to 41 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $3.2 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba said.

Daniel Dadoun, 49, of Israel, formerly of South Plainfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court on April 8, to charges of bank fraud and money laundering. Kirsch imposed the sentence in Trenton federal court.

According to court documents, from April 2020 through August 2022, Dadoun engaged in a scheme to illegally obtain over $3.2 million in PPP loans for his New Jersey businesses by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications.

After receiving the PPP loan proceeds, Dadoun sought to keep the money by submitting false and fraudulent PPP loan forgiveness applications that misrepresented payroll expenses and the number of employees working at his companies, documents said.

In support of the loan and loan forgiveness applications, Dadoun submitted falsified tax documents and altered bank statements, according to court documents

In addition to the prison term, Dadoun has been sentenced to three years’ supervised release and ordered restitution of $3,239,773.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 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 at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.