New Hampshire Man Sentenced to Two Years for Pandemic Fraud Conspiracy

PORTLAND, Maine: A Plymouth, New Hampshire man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for conspiring to commit wire fraud.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker sentenced Tyree Jones, 33, to 24 months in prison to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. Jones was also ordered to pay $359,274 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Jones pleaded guilty on January 8, 2025.

According to court records, in 2020 and 2021, Jones conspired with others to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic by submitting fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds. Jones submitted three fraudulent applications for himself and obtained $51,666. On his applications, Jones claimed to be the sole proprietor of non-existent businesses in the agricultural and trucking industries.

In addition to filing fraudulent applications for himself, Jones offered to help others obtain PPP and EIDL funds in exchange for “kickbacks” from any funds they received. Jones and coconspirators caused fraudulent applications to be filed for at least 12 other people. In support of the false applications, Jones and his coconspirators provided falsified IRS and bank documents.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act: The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who suffered economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act made  EIDL funding available to business owners negatively affected by the COVID19 pandemic. EIDL proceeds were funded by the SBA and disbursed by the U.S. Treasury. EIDLs could only be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid had the COVID19 disaster not occurred.

Paycheck Protection Program: The PPP was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the SBA that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. The PPP permitted participating third-party lenders to approve and disburse SBA-backed PPP loans to cover payroll, fixed debts, utilities, rent/mortgage, accounts payable and other bills incurred by qualifying businesses during, and resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP loans were fully guaranteed by the SBA.

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