NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A former transit worker and a former state court officer were sentenced to prison on Wednesday for COVID-19 loan fraud receiving nearly $770,000, according to prosecutors.
Arthur Cornwall, 43, a former signal maintainer with the New York City Transit Authority, and Sean Williams, 42, a former New York State Court officer, were each sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection to receiving in small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP).
According to court documents, between May 2020 and July 2020, Cornwall and Williams fraudulently obtained at least six PPP and EIDL loans by submitting documents containing false information, including the applicant's identity, the number of employees, revenue, payroll costs, and the intended use of the loan.
Cornwall and Williams later used the loan for personal use, discharging personal credit card debt and buying cryptocurrency, according to court documents.
Both pleaded guilty in June 2023 and resigned from their government jobs.
"Abuse of public benefits programs, particularly shameful when those defrauding the government are public servants, will not be tolerated and not forgotten with the passage of time from the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic," Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said.
The Court ordered Cornwall and Williams to pay $770,000 in restitution.
