JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In another COVID relief fund fraud case, the Department of Justice accepted a plea deal from a man who took $910,000 for his own personal interest.
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United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced on Tues., Feb. 14 that Kenneth Steven Landers, 57, Jacksonville, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and engaging in an illegal monetary transaction. Landers is facing a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.
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According to the Department of Justice, the plea agreement, during 2020 and 2021, Landers applied for federally backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans a total of 10 times. The requested total amount was $1,410,000. He submitted the applications on behalf of four different corporate entities that he controlled.
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In each application, Landers electronically submitted false information and documents, including fictitious or altered IRS tax forms.
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Seven of the 10 PPP loan applications were approved and funded in the total amount of $910,000. The money was deposited into bank accounts he controlled.
Landers did not use all of the loan proceeds to pay employees or for other allowable expenses under the PPP. Instead, he used the money for his own personal benefit.
In one instance, Landers paid off the mortgages on his home and a business property. In another example the DOJ said he purchased an 18kt gold Rolex watch and bought a vintage Jaguar XKE Roadster. He also wrote checks to himself, transferred money electronically to personal accounts, paid down personal debt, and made approximately $133,000 in cash withdrawals of funds traceable to PPP loan proceeds.
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As part of his plea agreement, Landers agreed to forfeit $910,000, the proceeds of wire fraud, as well as two pieces of real estate that he purchased or funded with the PPP loan proceeds.
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A sentencing date has not yet been set.