Virginia man sentenced for PPP fraud

The Justice Department has announced the sentencing of a man from Virginia for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Court documents indicate that Tarik Jaafar, of Ashburn, Virginia, conspired with his wife, Monika Magdalena Jaworska, to create four shell companies. These companies conducted no legitimate business and existed solely as a means to execute the scheme to defraud. From April 13 to May 6, Jaafar and Jaworska applied for 18 separate PPP loans in the names of the four shell companies valued at approximately $6.6 million, falsely claiming, among other things, that the businesses had employees and they needed the loans to pay their employees’ salaries. Jaafar and Jaworska fraudulently induced banks to distribute approximately $1.4 million in loans which they intended to use for their personal benefit.

On June 20, Jaafar and Jaworska were arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport as they attempted to flee to Poland. The majority of the funds were recovered by the banks and by law enforcement. On August 25, Jaafar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States.