Man Sentenced to 18 Months for PPP Loan Fraud

Larry Jordan sentenced to 18 months for filing fraudulent PPP loan applications and misusing funds for personal expenses.Photo byImage: Tysonomo Multimedia

Larry Jordan, 45, of Lancaster, New York, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud by submitting fraudulent loan applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced today.

According to court documents, between April and September 2020, Jordan and his brother, Sutukh El—also known as Curtis Jordan or Hugo Hermes Hurtington—conspired to file eight fraudulent PPP loan applications for businesses they owned or controlled.

Court records indicate that three applications were submitted to Evolve Bank & Trust, and five were sent to Lendio, a financial technology company based in Utah.

The applications falsely inflated the payroll expenses for 2019, increasing the amount of PPP funds the companies were eligible to receive.

To support their fraudulent claims, Jordan and El submitted IRS forms that, according to court documents, had never been filed with the IRS.

They also provided fabricated payroll registers with false employee names, personal details, and salaries to substantiate their applications, court records confirm.

For instance, a loan application submitted to Evolve Bank & Trust on behalf of 5 Stems Inc. falsely claimed the company had 194 employees with an average monthly payroll of $242,133.33.

In reality, the company employed only nine people, with a total annual payroll of approximately $57,380, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Evolve Bank approved the application, disbursing $605,200, which was deposited into an account controlled by Sutukh El.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that instead of using the funds for payroll, as required, the defendants spent the money on personal investments, home improvements, and other personal expenses.

Sutukh El was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

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