BIRMINGHAM — A federal grand jury this week indicted a Tuscaloosa man for defrauding the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.
A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Quincy T. Doss, 41, with wire fraud.
According to the indictment, between April 2021 and November 2021, Doss submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications and received two separate PPP loans totaling more than $220,000. In the loan applications, the defendant allegedly misrepresented that his business was in operation and had employees for whom it paid salaries, that the funds would be used to retain workers, and that the information provided in the loan applications was true and accurate.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan “Jack” Harrington is prosecuting the case.
Criminals worldwide exploit COVID-19 through a variety of fraud schemes, the DOJ stated in a press release. For more information about these scams visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud .
The department urged anyone who thinks they are a victim of a fraud or attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.