A Lewiston man pleaded guilty on Friday in a Bangor federal court to filing a fraudulent application to obtain an over $20,000 loan through a COVID-19 pandemic relief program, and now faces up to 20 years in prison.
Shahied Golden, 29, was accused of submitting a fraudulent application for a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in April 2021.
Prosecutors alleged that Golden listed a false gross income for 2020, and falsely claimed that the $20,833 in loan proceeds were needed to cover payroll for his alleged business.
To support the fraudulent claims, Golden further provided a fraudulent document that included a false statement of his gross income, and other fabricated financial figures, prosecutors said.
Federal spending records indicate that a $20,833 PPP loan was approved on May 2, 2021 for Shahied Golden, for a “transportation and warehousing” business.
According to the Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office, when Golden received the PPP loan proceeds, he moved the funds to his own personal bank account, quickly withdrew the funds, and spent the loan proceeds on non-business expenses.
After pleading guilty, Golden now faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
