A Texas resident who used his veteran status to commit financial crimes has been ordered to federal prison.
Antonio Jackson Jr., 39, of Marvel, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal on April 24. The sentence will immediately be followed by three years of supervised release, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The court also ordered Jackson to pay $1,974,145.63 in restitution to four different victims.
According to court testimony, Jackson used several methods to exploit his victims, including creating fake companies, submitting bogus tax records and even faking signatures of government officials and copying official government seals and emblems.
In handing down the sentence, Rosenthal highlighted Jackson’s wide-ranging criminal conduct and his ongoing commitment to defrauding both public and private victims.
The court also noted that Jackson exploited his brief stint in the Army, which ended in a court-martial, as a way to deceive others under the guise of service.
According to the release, Jackson submitted four false Paycheck Protection Program loan applications from July 2020 to May 2021. He claimed his business earned millions in revenue and paid hundreds of thousands in wages to more than 20 employees. In reality, Jackson fabricated tax returns, bank statements and other business records to support his false claims. The scheme resulted in losses of approximately $480,000.
While awaiting trial, authorities uncovered three additional schemes Jackson committed, the release continues. Jackson admitted to defrauding a Washington D.C.-based federal credit union through a series of scam home improvement loans, as part of his plea agreement. He also made false statements to obtain a Department of Veterans Affairs-backed loan. In addition, Jackson defrauded Brazoria County taxpayers by falsely claiming disabled veteran status to receive property tax relief on his Manvel residence.
Jackson will remain in custody pending his transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.