You got a PPP loan in 2020. Maybe 2021. Everybody in Wayne County did – the government was practically begging businesses to take the money during the pandemic. You filled out the application, got approved, maybe stretched a few numbers, got forgiveness. Years passed. The program ended. You assumed it was over.
The government didn’t.
The Eastern District of Michigan has turned PPP fraud prosecution into a methodical machine – and Wayne County is ground zero. Detroit-area defendants are being sentenced right now for loans they took in 2020 and 2021. Congress extended the statute of limitations to 10 years. That 2020 loan you thought was ancient history? It’s prosecutable until 2030. And the sentences being handed down in 2025 are 40% longer than what people got for identical conduct two years ago.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal PPP loan fraud defense in Wayne County and throughout the Eastern District of Michigan. If you’ve received a letter from the SBA Office of Inspector General, if federal agents have contacted you, if your accountant is asking uncomfortable questions – this article explains exactly what you’re facing and what options exist.
The Government Hasnt Forgotten
In August 2022, President Biden signed the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act. Most people missed what it actualy did.
Extended. Retroactively. The statute of limitations went from 5 years to 10 years – and it applies to loans already issued.
That means a PPP loan from 2020 is prosecutable until 2030. A loan from 2021 until 2031. If you submitted a fraudulent forgiveness application in late 2021 or 2022, prosecutors have until 2031 or 2032 to charge you. The government gave itself a full decade to come for you. And there using every day of it.
According to Pandemic Oversight, as of December 31, 2024: 3,096 defendants have been charged with pandemic relief fraud. Of those, 2,532 were convicted – thats 82%. Of the convicted, 1,741 recieved prison time – 81%. And 2,008 were ordered to pay restitution – 94%.
This is an assembly line. Not a courtroom drama.
The median time from initial referral to indictment has decreased by 45% compared to 2022-2023. What used to take 8-12 months now takes 4-6 months. The government has gotten faster, more efficient, and more ruthless. There not slowing down. The SBA Office of Inspector General has flagged over 70,000 loans for potential investigation. The FBI estimates $64 billion was stolen through PPP fraud.
So what does this look like in Wayne County?
Wayne County Is Ground Zero
The Eastern District of Michigan covers Detroit, Ann Arbor, and all of Wayne County. This is one of the most active federal districts in the country for PPP fraud prosecution.
Consider Matthew Parker.
Parker was a licensed CPA in Detroit. Between March 2020 and August 2021, he recruited hundreds of small businesses in Pittsburgh and Detroit. He falsified there PPP loan applications. Inflated payrolls. Fabricated employee counts. The SBA approved 226 of those applications, totaling $14.5 million in fraudulent loans.
In June 2025, Parker was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. He was ordered to pay $14.5 million in restitution to the Small Business Administration.
His co-conspirators got prosecuted too. Marc Andrew Martin of Detroit – who referred aproximately $1.9 million in fraudulent loan packages to Parker – was sentenced in July 2025 to 15 months and ordered to pay $659,152 in restitution.
Hundreds of businesses. One CPA. One scheme. Multiple prosecutions years later.
Recent Wayne County/Detroit PPP fraud sentences:
- Tracey Dotson (Detroit): 51 months federal prison for $900,000 PPP fraud
- Antonio Fluker (Flint): Over 11 years federal prison for $3.6 million in PPP and EIDL fraud – used the money for a Lamborghini
- Michael Bischoff (Macomb County): 32 months for nearly $1 million in fraudulent PPP applications across his pizza restaurants
- Rita Shaba, Samer Kammo, Christina Anasi (Macomb County): Pleaded guilty August 2025 to a $3 million+ fraud conspiracy
And heres the part that should terrify you if your thinking the small amounts dont matter.
Tiesha Johnson was a former ATF analyst from Farmington Hills. She fraudulently obtained PPP and EIDL loans totaling $34,675. In October 2024, she was sentenced to 11 months. Thirty-four thousand dollars. Nearly a year of her life.
The amount dosent protect you.
But the real danger isnt just the investigation. Its what happens after.
What Happens If Youre Caught
The Paycheck Protection Program itself dosent have criminal provisions. The CARES Act isnt a penal statute. So how are people going to federal prison for PPP fraud?
The DOJ uses pre-existing fraud statutes. One PPP application can trigger multiple charges:
- Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) – 20-30 years
- Bank Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344) – 30 years
- False Statements to SBA (18 U.S.C. § 1014) – 30 years
- Money Laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1956) – 20 years
- Aggravated Identity Theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028A) – mandatory +2 years consecutive
One application. Five charges. Theoretical exposure exceeding 100 years.
In practice, sentences dont reach that level. But charge stacking gives prosecutors enormous leverage in plea negotiations. They can offer to drop three charges if you plead to two. They can threaten the aggravated identity theft enhancement – which adds two years that must run consecutive to any other sentence – to pressure a quick plea.
And then theres the sentencing cliff.
Defendants sentenced in 2024-2025 are recieving sentences aproximately 40% longer than defendants who committed identical conduct but were sentenced in 2021-2022. Early pandemic sympathy is completley gone. Michigan judges now view PPP fraud as taxpayer theft during a national crisis. The desperation that drove people to stretch there applications in 2020? Judges arent interested anymore.
Federal judges in 2025 include prison time in nearly every PPP fraud sentencing. Regardless of the amount.
So what can you actualy do about this?
What To Do Right Now
The single most important rule:
Never agree to discuss a potential PPP fraud case with a federal agent without a lawyer present.
This sounds obvious. But there have been several recent cases were people who decided to talk to investigators without counsel ended up being charged with obstruction or making false statements to federal agents – in addition to the underlying PPP fraud. The agents seem friendly. Cooperative. There not on your side. Every word you say becomes evidence. Every explanation becomes a potential inconsistency they can use against you later.
And heres another trap most people fall into.
Some people, panicking, decide to voluntarily repay the loan thinking it will make the problem go away. The DOJ has explicitly stated that voluntary repayment can be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Returning the money without counsel dosent make it go away – it can actualy strengthen the governments case against you.
If your under investigation or concerned you might be:
- Dont destroy any documents. Document destruction can become a separate obstruction charge.
- Dont discuss the matter with others who may be involved. Those conversations can be used against you.
- Dont make voluntary payments to the SBA without counsel. This can be used as consciousness of guilt.
- Contact a federal defense attorney immediately. The earlier you act, the more options exist.
There is a window – typically six to twelve months – between when the SBA OIG flags a loan and when the case gets referred to the FBI for criminal investigation. During this window, a skilled defense attorney may be able to negotiate a civil disposition. Repayment plus a fine. Maybe a False Claims Act settlement. Not pleasant, but not a federal felony conviction either.
That window completley disappears once criminal charges are filed.
Todd Spodek has handled PPP fraud cases in the Eastern District of Michigan. He understands the difference between OIG-stage investigations where civil resolution may be possible, and FBI-stage investigations where criminal defense is the priority.
When Your Ready
If you’re in Wayne County – or anywhere in the Detroit metro area – and you’re facing a PPP loan fraud investigation, Spodek Law Group can help you understand where you stand and what options exist.
The consultation is free. Theirs no obligation.
What you’ll get is an honest assessment. Is this still at the OIG stage where civil resolution might be possible? Has it been referred to the FBI? What does the evidence look like? What are realistic outcomes – not best-case fantasies, but actual possibilities based on how these cases are playing out in the Eastern District of Michigan right now?
Call us at 908-643-7005. The statute of limitations runs until 2030 or 2031 depending on when you got the loan. The government has time. But once they move, things happen fast. The earlier you have counsel, the more leverage exists.
The window is closing. Dont wait until federal agents show up at your door.
Were here when you need us.
Written By
Todd Spodek
Todd Spodek is the Managing Partner of Spodek Law Group P.C. He is a second-generation trial attorney who has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the country. He has represented clients in some of the highest-profile federal criminal cases in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and beyond.
