PPP and EIDL prosecutions are still moving, and the statute of limitations is ten years. SBA OIG subpoenas, grand jury target letters, and indictments are landing five years after the loans closed. If you received a PPP or EIDL loan and now have a federal investigator at your door, the case is already built.
The Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program disbursed roughly $1.2 trillion in pandemic-era relief between 2020 and 2021. By the time the programs closed, the Department of Justice had already created the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, and Congress had extended the statute of limitations for PPP and EIDL fraud to ten years. That extended clock is the reason indictments are still landing in 2026, and the reason they will keep landing through 2030 and 2031.
The Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) is the engine behind the second-wave cases. PACE cross-references IRS payroll data, bank deposits, SBA loan files, and corporate filings to flag inconsistencies. A loan application that claimed 12 employees but matches an EIN with three W-2s. An EIDL borrower who certified a sole proprietorship that has no Schedule C filed. A PPP loan whose proceeds were transferred immediately to a personal account. These are the patterns PACE finds, and they are the patterns prosecutors charge.
If you received a PPP or EIDL loan in 2020 or 2021 and have now received an SBA OIG subpoena, a grand jury target letter, or a contact from the FBI, the case has been in development for months. The government rarely opens a PPP or EIDL file without a documentary core already assembled.
Bank Fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1344. PPP loans were issued by federally insured financial institutions. False statements to obtain those loans, or to obtain forgiveness, are charged as bank fraud, carrying up to thirty years per count. Bank fraud is the lead count in most PPP indictments.
False Statements to a Financial Institution, 18 U.S.C. § 1014. Each PPP certification, the employee count, the payroll figure, the use-of-proceeds promise, the affiliate disclosure, is a potential § 1014 count. § 1014 also carries up to thirty years per count and is the prosecutor's tool for stacking exposure in cases where the loan itself was relatively small.
Wire Fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The application submission, the lender's wire transfer of proceeds, and the subsequent disbursements all touch interstate wires. Wire fraud counts get added to multiply exposure and to extend jurisdiction.
False Statements to a Federal Agency, 18 U.S.C. § 1001. EIDL loans came directly from the SBA, which makes § 1001 the primary false statement charge for EIDL fraud rather than § 1014. § 1001 carries five years per count and is frequently paired with wire fraud and conspiracy.
Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 371. Conspiracy charges allow prosecutors to indict loan agents, accountants, fulfillment partners, and family members alongside the principal borrower whenever the application or use of proceeds involved coordination.
Money Laundering, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957. Once fraud predicates are established, every subsequent transfer of the loan proceeds becomes a money laundering count. This is how a single PPP loan can generate a fifteen-count indictment.
The pattern is consistent across districts. SBA OIG opens a file based on a PACE referral or a whistleblower complaint. OIG issues a subpoena for the loan file, the bank records, and the supporting documentation. The U.S. Attorney's Office reviews the OIG package and decides whether to bring criminal charges or refer civilly under the False Claims Act. In SDFL, the Middle District, and increasingly the Eastern and Northern Districts of Florida, the criminal track is the default.
Documents drive everything. PPP and EIDL fraud is a paper case. The application, the certifications, the supporting payroll records, the bank statements, the use-of-proceeds ledger, the forgiveness submission, all of these are in the government's hands before a target letter is issued. Defense work that begins after indictment is defense work that begins with the prosecution already holding the documentary record.
AMC Defense Law has handled PPP, EIDL, and broader COVID-era fraud cases in South Florida and federal courts nationwide. The defense strategy adapts to the stage of the case.
Pre-indictment representation. SBA OIG subpoenas and grand jury target letters are the highest-leverage points for defense intervention. The right response can narrow scope, control document production, and in some cases convert a criminal case into a civil False Claims Act resolution.
Loss calculation defense. The Guidelines drive sentencing in PPP and EIDL cases, and the loss number drives the Guidelines. We contest loss calculations forensically: legitimate eligibility for portions of the loan, legitimate use of portions of the proceeds, credit for funds returned, and proper application of the offset rules. A $400,000 loss reduction can mean two years off a sentence.
Reliance defenses. Many PPP and EIDL borrowers worked with loan agents, accountants, or fintech lenders who actively built the application. We develop reliance evidence in detail, who gave what advice, what documents were provided, what the borrower understood, because it is often the difference between a felony conviction and a misdemeanor or declination.
Eligibility and intent defenses. PPP eligibility rules changed multiple times between PPP1, PPP2, and SBA interim guidance. EIDL eligibility was even more ambiguous for sole proprietors and gig workers. Where the borrower's understanding of eligibility was reasonable at the time, that is a defense to the intent element, and we build it on the record rather than at trial.
If you or your loved ones have been contacted by SBA OIG, the FBI, or a federal grand jury regarding a PPP, EIDL, or other COVID relief loan, call Aaron M. Cohen, 24 hours a day to get help.
No. PPP forgiveness was a determination by the SBA and your lender, not a determination by the Department of Justice. The DOJ retained independent authority to prosecute fraud in the loan application, the certifications, or the use of proceeds, regardless of forgiveness status. Forgiveness can actually heighten exposure because it required additional sworn certifications that prosecutors now use as charged false statements. The PPP and EIDL fraud statute of limitations is ten years under the COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act, which means 2020 and 2021 loans remain charge-eligible through 2030 and 2031.
Reliance on a professional is a defense, but it is not automatic and not always strong. The certifications on a PPP or EIDL application are signed by the borrower under penalty of perjury. Prosecutors argue that signing without reading is not a defense to false statements liability. The strength of a reliance defense depends on what the professional was told, what documents the borrower provided, and whether the borrower had reason to know the figures were false. We develop reliance defenses carefully because they can also expose the professional, which complicates the strategy.
Sentencing in PPP and EIDL fraud is driven almost entirely by 'loss amount' under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1. The base offense level rises with the dollar value of the fraudulent loan and proceeds. A $150,000 PPP loan can produce an advisory guideline range of 24 to 36 months. A $1 million EIDL fraud, with sophisticated means and number-of-victims enhancements, can produce ranges of 60 to 87 months or more. Enhancements for the use of fictitious identities, identity theft, or organized schemes multiply quickly. Fighting the loss calculation is the single highest-leverage move in PPP and EIDL defense.
An SBA OIG subpoena means the Office of Inspector General is conducting a formal investigation into the loan, the certifications, or the use of proceeds. SBA OIG works hand in hand with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI. Subpoenas are not informal requests, they are litigation-grade compulsory process and the response is often the first piece of charged evidence. Do not produce anything without counsel reviewing every document. Many subpoena responses become indictment exhibits.
Several defenses recur. **Eligibility ambiguity** addresses the moving target of PPP eligibility rules across multiple rounds and SBA guidance changes. **Use of proceeds** defenses challenge whether expenditures actually fell outside permitted categories at the time. **Reliance** defenses target good-faith dependence on accountants, lenders, or loan agents who built the application. **Intent** defenses challenge whether the borrower knowingly made a false statement or simply got numbers wrong under time pressure. We build the strongest available combination based on the specific record.
Because the statute of limitations is ten years and the Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) is still feeding leads to U.S. Attorney's Offices nationwide. PACE matches IRS, banking, and SBA data to flag inconsistencies. Even where headlines suggest a wind-down, line prosecutors in SDFL, the Middle District of Florida, and the Eastern and Northern Districts continue to indict from PACE referrals. The wave is slower, not over. Targets from 2020 and 2021 are still being identified in 2026.
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Wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 is one of the most frequently charged federal crimes, and one of the most flexible tools in a federal prosecutor's toolkit. Any scheme to defraud that uses a wire communication crosses into federal jurisdiction. The penalty is up to 20 years per count.
IRS Criminal Investigation has a 90%+ conviction rate and investigates only cases it intends to prosecute. In the Southern District of Florida, federal tax fraud cases overlap heavily with money laundering, healthcare fraud, and drug trafficking, making tax charges the vehicle by which prosecutors reach defendants whose other conduct is harder to prove.
Federal money laundering charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 carry up to 20 years per count. When federal prosecutors target financial transactions in South Florida, you need defense counsel who knows exactly how they build these cases, and how to dismantle them.
Federal aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A carries a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence that stacks on top of the underlying offense, with no judicial discretion to run it concurrently. When paired with wire fraud or healthcare fraud, a single case can produce 15 to 20 years in mandatory federal time.