Laplace Resident Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud for Defrauding Cares Act Financial Assistance Program

NEW ORLEANS –  U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that BASHIR SCHOFIELD, age 24, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Greg G. Guidry to a bill of information charging him with wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, for his role in preparing and filing false applications for loans related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  

According to court documents, BASHIR SCHOFIELD and two relatives, submitted applications to fraudulently obtain money from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans.  SCHOFIELD and his relatives submitted loan applications that falsely represented that the applicant had a sole proprietorship and generated substantial income from that business.  SCHOFIELD and his relatives’ false representations included the overinflation of the business’s gross receipts, as well as the claim that the loan proceeds were for business purposes when, in fact, the defendants intended to use the money for personal purposes.  Indeed, the entities either did not exist at all or earned far less money than BASHIR SCHOFIELD and his relatives represented. 

For example, on about April 14, 2021, SCHOFIELD completed and submitted a false PPP loan application in the name of an entity he claimed to control, “Vison Six, LLC.”  SCHOFIELD falsely stated in the application that SCHOFIELD’s gross income from Vison Six in 2019 was $100,000 and that the money would be used for business-related purposes.  In fact, Vison Six was not incorporated until November 2020 and performed no business and had no gross receipts in 2019.  As a result of the fraudulent application, SCHOFIELD received approximately $20,833.  Additionally, SCHOFIELD and his relatives collectively submitted false applications for several other entities, including “AfroTouch, Inc.,” “Afromerica Touch 360, LLC,” and “Just Jocin.”

BASHIR SCHOFIELD faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.  Sentencing before Judge Guidry is scheduled for March 5 2024.