Bank Manager Sentenced to 5 Years for COVID-19 Relief Fraud

Bank Manager Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for COVID-19 Relief Program Fraud Scheme

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Indicted On Corruption Charges In New York

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A former branch manager of a national financial institution was sentenced to 65 months in prison for using his position to organize a conspiracy to help individuals obtain at least 38 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling approximately $5 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Tommy Hawkins, 61, of Philadelphia, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to one count of bank fraud conspiracy. Judge Williams enforced the sentence on Oct. 18, 2024, in a Camden federal court. His codefendant, Sieff Robert Sargeant, 44, of Island Park, New York, previously pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and was sentenced on Oct. 2, 2024, to six months in prison and six months of home confinement.

According to the District of New Jersey United State’s Attorneys Office, documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying small business was required to apply and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and expenses. In addition, businesses generally had to provide supporting documentation.

In 2020 and early 2021, Hawkins worked as the branch manager of the Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, branch of a national bank that was accepting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. Hawkins worked with Eric Rivera, Lisa Smith, and others to recruit individuals who owned companies with little or no operations to open bank accounts at Hawkins’ branch and apply for PPP loans. Hawkins helped the recruited individuals submit PPP loan applications that contained materially false representations about the companies’ number of employees and payroll expenses.