According to court documents, Anton Matthews submitted a COVID-19 Payment Protection Program loan application in which he claimed to have a food truck business and had earned $103,000 in gross income in 2020. However, in federal court, prosecutors said in that Matthew’s application for COVID relief money had some issues – he actually was in prison at the time of his supposed business.
On February 13, 2023, Anton Matthews was indicted on wire fraud charges “after misrepresenting his income and occupation.” Misrepresenting is putting Matthew’s fraud mildly. How about charging Matthews with wire fraud after blatantly lying about his income and occupation? Records show that Matthews was in federal prison from November 2016 until October 2020, with home confinement until March 2021. There are no food trucks in jail! The closets opportunity Matthews had to serving food during this time was at the prison canteen. Either way, the confusion on his application had not stopped Matthews from receiving $50,000 in fraudulent funds.
Matthews fraudulent application was his first and hopefully only endeavor into fraud. But it is the lesser of his crimes. In late 2016 to 2020, when he filed for Covid-19 funds, he was serving time for distributing crack cocaine in Wheeling Island, Ohio. This crime was made even more dangerous as it occurred near an elementary school. Sadly, Matthews is not a reformed drug dealer. On the same day the COVID fraud charges were filed against him, Matthews was also indicted for supposedly distributing cocaine again. This time in a bar.
Kudos to the FBI with this investigation. Court date has yet to be set.
Great job by the FBI in this investigation. Today’s Fraud Of The Day is based on article “West Virginia PPP West Virginia feds: Man behind bars said he was operating food truck & got fed COVID funding” published by The West Virginia News on February 13, 2023
A West Virginia man has been indicted on wire fraud charges after obtaining COVID relief money by claiming he was operating a food truck when he was actually in federal prison.
Anton Demetrius Matthews, age 39, of Wheeling, has been charged with wire fraud after obtaining nearly $50,000 in CARES Act loans by misrepresenting his income and occupation, according to the Office of Northern West Virginia U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld.
