A technology executive in the Seattle area tried to fraudulently obtain a COVID-19 disaster relief loan through a salary protection program and was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday.
Mukund Mohan, 48, from Mount Clyde, Washington, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges on March 15. He was initially charged in July 2020.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said in a statement Press Releases Mohan submitted eight fraudulent catastrophe loan applications, seeking more than $5.5 million. In support of these applications, forged and falsified documents were submitted, including falsified federal tax returns and falsified company documents.
For example, court documents show that Mohan falsely stated to lenders that his company, Mahenjo Inc., had dozens of employees in 2019 and paid millions of dollars in employee salaries and payroll taxes. He submitted false company registration documents and tax forms, indicating that the company started business before 2020, but he actually purchased Mahenjo in May 2020 and had no employees and no business activities at the time of purchase.
Five of the eight fraudulent loan applications were approved, and Mohan received nearly $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Mohan’s previous technical experience includes serving as Director of Product Management at Amazon Business. He also served as a director of Microsoft Ventures and director of engineering for Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise business.
“When people like Mr. Mohan abuse the welfare program under CARES to unfairly enrich themselves, they are stealing from the most vulnerable,” Corinne Kalve, the acting agent in charge of the IRS criminal investigation, said in a statement. “Today, Mr. Mohan is responsible for the harm his greed has caused to our friends, family and communities.”
In the first few months of the PPP, lawyers from the Department of Justice’s Fraud Division prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases and seized more than $65 million in cash derived from fraudulent PPP funds, and Many real estate and luxury goods.
In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, Mohan was also ordered to pay a fine of US$100,000 and a compensation of US$1,786,357.