Source: United States Department of Justice News
MIAMI – Sean Pierre Jackson, 33, of Palm Beach County, Fla., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg for fraudulently obtaining more than $800,000 in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans. These loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
On August 11, 2022, Jackson pled guilty to wire fraud. He was the principal and registered agent of Clutch Strategies LLC, SP Jackson Family Foundation Inc, and Black Republican Caucus of Florida Foundation Inc—all purported businesses located in Boca Raton, Fla.
Between March 30, 2020, through approximately May 10, 2021, Jackson submitted PPP and EIDL loan applications on behalf of himself—as sole proprietor—and his aforementioned companies. In total, the loan applications sought more than $839,000 in PPP and EIDL loan funds.
Jackson falsely stated his prior-year income and expenses in the PPP and EIDL loan applications. In support of the applications, he submitted false and fraudulent Internal Revenue Service forms, which documented income and expenses from his business and sole proprietorship.
Jackson submitted one such fraudulent PPP loan application on June 28, 2020, on behalf of Black Republican Caucus of Florida. A short time later a Black Republican Caucus of Florida bank account, controlled by Jackson, received a $150,325 PPP loan that was intended to pay a lease, mortgage interest, utilities, and payroll checks. Instead, the loan was used to pay for transactions at high-end retail stores, furniture stores, restaurants, car rentals, luxury hotels, airline tickets, and bank withdrawals.
Approximately 11 of the fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications were processed but some of the received funds were recovered by banks and lenders shortly after disbursement.
In addition to the prison sentence, Jackson also was ordered to pay $661,986 in restitution.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Dewitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI, West Palm Beach Field Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah J. Schall and James A. Weinkle prosecuted it. Raemy Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.
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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-CR-80082.