Four men indicted for alleged COVID-19 relief program fraud

Four men from the Boston area have been charged with wire fraud for allegedly defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

According to the Department of Justice, Jonathan Arroyo, Daquan Dooley, Demetrous Thomas, and Gianni Williams Johnson submitted fraudulent applications claiming business ownership and economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment alleges that Arroyo, Thomas, and Williams Johnson used bogus tax returns to secure forgivable PPP loans exceeding $20,000 each, despite not owning businesses or filing the claimed tax information with the IRS.

Additionally, Dooley is accused of submitting a fraudulent EIDL application. While he claimed the funds would cover business expenses like rent and payroll, bank records allegedly show he spent thousands of dollars of the relief funds at a casino.