Federal law enforcement arrested West Bloomfield, Michigan resident Randon “Romero” Williams, who is charged by complaint with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly defrauding financial institutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The complaint alleges that between approximately April 2020 and March 2021, Williams, 40, applied for more than $5 million in loans across six applications submitted to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) participating lenders under the names of various businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investigators allege that these businesses either existed only on paper or that the applications materially inflated employee headcounts, payroll expenses, and gross receipts during relevant periods—key factors used to determine loan eligibility and amounts.
“These efforts are the first fruits of President Donald J. Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and come on the heels of the establishment of the new National Fraud Enforcement Division working under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced. “We will zealously prosecute any thief who steals from the hardworking American taxpayer,” said Gorgon.
According to the complaint, Williams claimed that businesses with names such as “The Romero Group” and “Step Ladder Construction” employed between 21 and 75 individuals and reported monthly payroll expenses of more than half a million dollars. Williams allegedly submitted falsified tax documents with the loan applications.
“The National Fraud Enforcement Division is ensuring that those who steal from taxpayers are held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, of the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Fasbinder and investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations.
“The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was designed to be a lifeline for struggling businesses during a global disaster event, not a free-for-all for any unscrupulous fraudster looking for easy money,” said Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “If you think that’s the case, you are dead wrong, and you will be held accountable for stealing from every hard-working taxpayer that pays their fair share. Our expertise is following the money, and we will find you.”
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The federal government also charged an Iowa farmer who defrauded federal taxpayers out of more than $1.7 million in agricultural subsidies, stole multiple identities, and stalked a witness, was sentenced yesterday to 13 years in federal prison.
In North Carolina, a federal judge sentenced a Robeson County woman to 10 months in prison for her role in a half-million-dollar COVID-19 fraud scheme.
In South Carolina, a former U.S. Department of Energy employee pleaded guilty to stealing a dead relative's pension.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.