Man indicted in Jacksonville for COVID-19 relief fraud

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging 34-year-old Desmond Dondre Williams of Jasper, Florida with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

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If convicted, Williams faces up to 20 years in prison on each count and must pay back the United States government in full.

According to the indictment, Williams submitted two Paycheck Protection Program loan applications. Both PPP loan applications falsely claimed that Williams operated as the “personal chef” for his business, Tastebudz. Throughout the loan applications, Williams made multiple false statements regarding his purported gross income and expenses associated with operating Tastebudz.

In support of his two PPP loan applications, Williams submitted a false IRS Form 1040 “Profit or Loss From Business” for Tastebudz. It contained false statements about operating expenses for his business. In truth, Tastebudz did not exist. The Small Business Administration relied on the false statements in his two PPP loan applications, and funded two PPP loans for Tastebudz, totaling $39,327.

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An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

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