HOUSTON (Talk1370.com) -- A Houston man is facing charges of fraudulently obtaining more than $1.1 million under the Paycheck Protection Program, officials announced Tuesday.
29-year old Joshua Thomas Argires is facing charges of making false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud, bank fraud, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Argires allegedly perpetrated a scheme to file two fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million in forgivable loans.
The complaint alleges Argires submitted two fraudulent PPP loan applications; one application was on behalf of an entity called Texas Barbecue, while the other was filed on behalf of a company called Houston Landscaping. Argires allegedly claimed these two companies had numerous employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll expenses. According to the complaint, neither Texas Barbecue nor Houston Landscaping has employees or pays wages consistent with the amounts claimed.
In the complaint, officials say the funds received on behalf of Texas Barbecue were invested in a cryptocurrency account, while the funds obtained for Houston Landscaping were held in a bank account and slowly depleted via ATM withdrawals.
The PPP requires businesses to use the loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities, with interest and principal being forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on those expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.