South Plainfield Man Made $3.2M Off PPP COVID Loan Scheme, Feds Say

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — A former South Plainfield man who holds French, Canadian and Israeli passports was charged with running a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud, which netted him $3.2 million in stolen money from the U.S. government, say federal prosecutors.

Daniel Dadoun, 47, formerly of South Plainfield, was charged with four counts of bank fraud and two counts of transacting in criminal proceeds, said U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

He appeared Monday in Newark federal court and was detained, due to being a flight risk because he has international passports.

Paycheck Protection Program loans were loans given out by the federal government to small businesses during the COVID pandemic, to help small businesses survive after they lost revenue or were ordered to close down by the U.S. government.

Federal prosecutors say that from April 2020 through August 2022, Dadoun engaged in a scheme to illegally obtain over $3.2 million in PPP loans on behalf of businesses located in New Jersey. After he got the loans, Dadoun then submitted fraudulent PPP loan forgiveness applications, so he did not have to pay it back.

In his loan applications, he lied about the companies, including the number of employees and payroll expenses, say the feds. Dadoun submitted falsified tax documents, altered and falsified bank statements, a fake lease, and a false letter purportedly signed by a New Jersey accountant.

He is facing up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.

“Dadoun may have known how to work the benefit system for his own financial gain, but now it’s law enforcement and the judicial system that will work to hold him accountable for his crimes," said Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of the New York division of criminal investigations of the IRS New York.

“These programs were designed to help Americans struggling through the pandemic. Our office will combat this type of fraud whenever we encounter it," vowed U.S. Attorney Sellinger.