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Federal authorities in New Jersey said Darryl Duanne Young of Kingston was charged for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1.7 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans for himself and others.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said Young, 59, who also resided in East Orange, N.J., faces charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. Young, also known as Darryl Duanne Isom Young, had an initial appearance Tuesday by video conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor and was released on $150,000 unsecured bond.
In a press release, federal authorities said the complaint and court testimony stated: Young engaged in a scheme to illegally obtain PPP loans for himself and his conspirators through numerous misrepresentations to banks. Young submitted and directed others to submit fraudulent loan applications. He submitted falsified tax documents and bank statements to a victim lender in support of the loan applications. He received over $230,000 in loans for businesses he controlled and received a percentage of loan proceeds for assisting in submitting fraudulent applications on behalf of others.
Up to $349 billion in forgivable PPP loans were authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act in 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The loans were made to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. Congress later authorized more than $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The charges of money laundering each carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.
Numerous federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Social Security Administration participated in the investigation.