A St. Louis lawyer admitted defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration out of $379,900 by fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 pandemic loan.
John J. Diehl Jr., 60, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud.
Diehl admitted that on March 30, 2020, he applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan on behalf of his law firm, the Diehl Law Group.
The EIDL program was designed to help struggling small businesses during the pandemic by providing deferred, low interest loans to be used strictly for working capital, payroll and other fixed debts of the business caused by the pandemic.
Diehl signed a loan authorization and agreement form in which he falsely represented and certified that Diehl Law Group “…will use all the proceeds of this Loan solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by disaster occurring in the month of January 31, 2020 and continuing thereafter….”
On April 16, 2020, an advance of $1,000 on the EIDL loan was deposited into a Diehl Law Group bank account. On April 27, 2020, Diehl spent $1,320.15 at a country club for personal dues and charges, a payment that inappropriately included those EIDL funds.
On June 9, 2020, the remainder of the EIDL loan, $93,900, was transmitted into his law firm’s bank account.
Diehl transferred some of the funds to his personal bank accounts and between June 10, 2020, and August 16, 2021, he spent that money on a Tesla, Audi and Jeep, personal credit cards, a personal home mortgage, a family member’s college tuition, pool maintenance, country club dues and fees and cash withdrawals for personal use and expenses.
On Sept. 16, 2020, Diehl also transferred $50,039.55 of the EIDL proceeds to the Diehl Law Group’s retirement plan in which Diehl was the only participant.
In March of 2022, Diehl requested an EIDL loan modification. He again pledged that Diehl Law Group will use the funds “to alleviate economic injury caused by disaster.” On April 12, 2022, the additional loan proceeds of $285,000 were wired into the Diehl Law Group bank account. Diehl then transferred some of the funds into his personal bank accounts. Between April 14, 2022, and June 21, 2023, Diehl inappropriately used the EIDL funds for payments on personal credit cards, fees paid to a St. Louis law firm for a personal legal matter, college tuition, residential mortgage payments and cash withdrawals for personal use and expenses.On Sept. 16, 2022, Diehl also inappropriately transferred $150,000 of the EIDL modified loan proceeds into his retirement plan.
In total, Diehl obtained $379,900 in EIDL loan funds through his fraud scheme.
Diehl is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. He has repaid the EIDL loan proceeds to the United States Treasury, his lawyer said Thursday.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.
Pandemic money meant to help struggling business owners but thousands of people tried to scam the government, the IRS said in March.
Five years after the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, IRS Criminal Investigation has launched 2,039 tax and money laundering cases related to COVID fraud totaling $10 billion. These cases include a broad range of criminal activity, including fraudulently obtained loans, credits and payments meant for American workers, families, and small businesses.
As of Feb. 28, 1,028 people have been indicted for their alleged COVID-related crimes, and 569 individuals have been sentenced to an average of 31 months in federal prison. IRS-CI has obtained a 97.4% conviction rate in prosecuted COVID fraud cases. Many investigations are ongoing.
As of Feb. 28, IRS-CI has initiated 545 investigations, involving more than $5.6 billion in Employee Retention Credit fraud in tax years, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Seventy-five of the 545 investigations have resulted in federal charges. Thus far, 38 defendants in those cases have been convicted, with 18 defendants sentenced to an average of 21 months in prison.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member