In December, Daniel Hernandez, formerly a bank manager at TD Bank in Miami-Dade County, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charges stem from his alleged recruiting of TD Bank customers into filing over 80 fraudulent loan applications with the Small Business Association (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) worth over $30 million dollars. Allegedly, Mr. Hernandez recruited bank customers and assisted them in the filing of these fraudulent loan applications, and then took a commission from each successful application.
It’s not clear how the investigation began, but what is interesting here is that a whistleblower (say, another bank employee or a bank customer who was recruited or refused to participate) could have made a tremendous amount of money by simply reporting the fraudulent activity through the use of a qui tam lawsuit. Indeed, for a $30 million scheme like this one, the whistleblower could have reported the fraud to a qui tam lawyer and then received a payout of $4.5-7.5 million dollars (minus attorney commissions or fees). In short, a conscientious whistleblower could have simply made a report, allowed the attorney to pursue the case, and become rich (lawfully and honorably).
Without question, fraudulent PPP schemes like this one were rampant throughout the United States. If you know of fraudulent activity relating to SBA loan applications, you should strongly consider contacting the experienced investigators at the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo PLLC. Their team includes a former Manhattan prosecutor and former law enforcement agents who understand what federal prosecutors are looking for in a successful qui tam case. It could be worth a tremendous amount of money to you to do the right thing and make a report.