A man from Stoughton has admitted to being part of a scheme that falsely claimed over $220,000 in COVID-19 business relief loans. This information comes from the office of the U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts.
On Thursday, 41-year-old Patrick Joseph entered a guilty plea for multiple charges related to fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. This was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s office in a press release.
From April 2020 to April 2021, Joseph was involved in a fraudulent activity. This scheme made over $220,000 through deceitful applications for COVID-19 paycheck protection business loans. He worked alongside Yves Montima, a 55-year-old resident of Stoughton. Together, they submitted 12 fake loan applications, using their own names and the names of others.
These applications falsely claimed income from independent contracting work. They supported these claims with fake tax documents. Joseph and Montima didn’t just benefit from the loans they applied for themselves. They also received extra money from others who were part of their scheme.
In November 2021, Montima admitted to one charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s office shared this in a press release. In September 2023, he received a sentence. A federal judge decided he should have three years of supervised release. The first 10 months, he must stay in home confinement. He was also ordered to pay back $239,595.
Joseph faced indictment by a federal grand jury in November 2021. His sentencing is set for June 20. He could be looking at many years in prison, more than a decade of supervised release, and fines and forfeiture amounting to over $1 million.