(WWJ) A Macomb County business owner is headed to prison, after he lied to get ahold of government funds that were supposed to help struggling businesses pay their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Michael Bischoff of Macomb Township, was sentenced Tuesday to 32 months in federal prison for fraudulently seeking nearly $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Bischoff, 60, was charged last fall and pleaded guilty to bank fraud on Nov. 23, 2020, in the Eastern District of Michigan.
According to court documents, Bischoff, who owned multiple pizza restaurants in Macomb County, admitted to defrauding several financial institutions by submitting at least nine falsified PPP loan applications that included false representations about payroll, business expenses, and the number of employees working at his restaurants.
To help secure the PPP loans, the feds said Bischoff also submitted multiple fabricated tax documents and fraudulently used another person’s personal identifying information.
In total, Bischoff fraudulently sought approximately $931,000 in COVID-19 relief funds and received approximately $593,590.
On top of his prison sentence, Bischoff was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and to pay $593,590 in restitution and a $5,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, the United States Secret Service and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General.
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