Detroit man pleads guilty in $14.5 million PPP loan fraud
A Detroit man has pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy relating to a case that involved over $14 million in falsified applications for Paycheck Protection Program COVID-19 relief funds.
Marc Andrew Martin, 46, will be sentenced July 10 in the Pennsylvania case, according to a press release from acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. Martin faces up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both.
Martin had worked with Matthew Lloyd Parker, who was a licensed CPA in Michigan, among others, during 2020 and 2021 to recruit hundreds of small businesses in Detroit and Pittsburgh and then falsify PPP loan applications, the district attorney's office said.
The PPP was an emergency loan program created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020 and expanded by the later American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The intent was to help eligible businesses cover payroll costs and other specified expenses amid the economic disruptions of the time.
The Small Business Administration approved 226 of the submitted applications, resulting in loans totaling around $14.5 million, an amount the press release said was "the largest known PPP fraud in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Martin's role involved referring about $1.9 million in "fraudulent loan packages" to Parker, the report said.
Parker pleaded guilty in May 2024 to fraud conspiracy.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation did the investigation that led to Martin's prosecution.