Owning a home is more than just having a place. It symbolizes “making it” in life and achieving the American Dream. And Bill Dessaps wanted a piece of that dream. But bad credit and lack of money got in the way. Hurdles for some that would get in the way of that American Dream. But for Dessaps, easy to overcome thanks to the pandemic, when COVID-19 relief loans became readily accessible for those in need and fraudsters alike.
Dessaps first conspired with a team of individuals in Massachusetts and Florida to submit a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program application on behalf of a used car dealership owned by Dessaps. It is alleged that the application they prepared and submitted falsely stated that the dealership had forty employees with average monthly payroll expenses of $334,720. As a result of the fraudulent information provided on the applications, the lender disbursed a PPP loan of $836,800.
Unfortunately, Dessaps slice of the fraudulently obtained gains wasn’t enough to buy a home. Even then, the PPP relief program strictly prohibits buying a home. And Dessaps bad credit did not open the gateways to a mortgage. Yet these hurdles didn’t get in the way of Dessaps dream. Dessaps purchased a$750,000 home using the name of a relative. Dessaps, his relative and a real estate agent submitted to a lender a fraudulent mortgage application which included forms and forged records with inflated income and assets of the relative. Dessaps had transferred his PPP proceeds into a joint bank account that he and the relative controlled to inflate the relatives’ assets. In total, Dessaps obtained a $510,000 mortgage on the home and has lived in it. Soon there could be a “For Sale” sign on the front the step.
Excellent job by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Easton man used COVID funds to buy home in relative’s name, feds say” published by Mass Live on July 3, 2024.
An Easton man was indicted again in connection with using COVID-19 relief funds to secretly buy a home in the name of a close relative, Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy’s office announced.
Bill Dessaps, 47, was charged in a superseding indictment with a second count of wire fraud conspiracy, Levy’s office said in a statement released Wednesday. He was first indicted in January 2024 on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of money laundering and one count of bank fraud. An Easton man was charged yesterday in a superseding indictment for allegedly using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to secretly purchase a home in the name of a close relative.
