Florida Immigrant Sentenced in $4.2 Million COVID-19 Business Relief Fraud Scheme

Florida Immigrant Sentenced in $4.2 Million COVID-19 Business Relief Fraud Scheme
A judge's gavel in a file photo. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Katabella Roberts
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A Florida man has been sentenced to six years and two months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $2.1 million after fraudulently submitting COVID-19 relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Valesky Barosy, 27, was sentenced in Fort Lauderdale federal court, according to court records.

He was convicted by a jury on five counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in December.

According to prosecutors, Barosy submitted dozens of fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of himself and his accomplices, seeking more than $4.2 million in loans and successfully obtaining more than $2 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic-era PPP program granted American businesses billions of dollars in forgivable small-business loans to help them stay afloat amid lockdowns, enabling them to pay employees, rent, and utilities, among other things.

The program was part of the COVID-19 relief package, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, that became federal law in March 2020.

In April 2020 Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

Money Spent on Luxury Items

However, in each of his loan applications, Barosy allegedly falsified the applicant’s prior year expenses, net profit, or payroll, and submitted fraudulent Internal Revenue Service tax forms, prosecutors said, adding that for every loan application he submitted, his accomplices paid him a 20 to 30 percent kickback.

Instead of putting the fraudulently obtained money to its intended use, Barosy, who is originally from Haiti, allegedly used it to purchase an array of expensive items including a Lamborghini, Rolex watches, and designer clothes.

He then posted photos of the newly-purchased items on his Instagram account in an effort to portray the lifestyle of an immigrant who became a successful entrepreneur, according to reports.

In a 2019 press release, Barosy described himself as having gone from working an $8.75 per hour full-time job at Walmart to being the regional vice president of a credit repair company that purportedly made “$3.6 million in sales.”

The press release described him as the “youngest executive vice president projected to do over 6 million dollars in sales.”

“It’s been a great journey. Being able to build a team of over 5 thousand distributors nationwide, mentor dozens of people to six figures and 100’s of people to be job free is something that I thought it was only in my dreams,” Barosy said at the time.

“Since then my life has never been the same. I have been able to travel the world, spend time with my family back home in Haiti and help my parents,” he added.

Immigrant ‘Success’ Story

The press release also noted that Barosy planned to “create a better world,” starting with “giving more opportunities to people that want to do good.”

According to prosecutors, officials later found the fake loan applications and the fabricated tax documents on his computer along with text messages soliciting information from prospective clients.

In one such text message, Barosy allegedly touted his successful ability to “max out ppp,” prosecutors said.

The PPP program allowed qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1 percent. However, the interest and principal on the loan are forgiven if the company spends the loan proceeds on certain expensive items such as rent and utilities within a certain period of time after receiving the money.

Businesses must also use a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses to qualify for forgiveness.

A September 2022 report (pdf) by the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General found that an estimated $45.6 billion in unemployment benefits granted by the government was fraudulently stolen by criminals between March 2020 and April 2022.

The Epoch Times has contacted Barosy’s defense attorney, Omar Lopez, for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Katabella Roberts
Katabella Roberts
Author
Katabella Roberts is a news writer for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and business news.
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