Lubbock man to spend 15 years in prison for PPP loan fraud totaling $4M
LUBBOCK (CBSNewsTexas.com) – A Lubbock man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting to fraudulently applying and receiving 27 Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling almost $4 million.
Andrew Travis Johnson, 59, pleaded guilty in March to three counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.
Johnson has been ordered to pay $4.15 million in restitution and to forfeit numerous assets, including multiple luxury cars, according to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
He admitted he applied for loans on behalf of three entities: an actual business that provided contract speech and occupational therapy services, an actual nonprofit that organized community fundraisers for individuals with intellectual limitations and a fake entity that never provided goods or services of any kind and had no employees.
Each entity sought and received forgiveness on each of the loans. Instead of using the money for payroll or business expenses like he claimed, Johnson and 50-year-old Hope Leticia Hastey, a woman he was in a relationship with, spent nearly $3.5 million on home renovations, vacations, clothing, cosmetic surgery, college tuition, cars, wedding expenses and equipment for an unrelated business venture.
Hastey has been charged with misprision, or concealment of knowledge of Johnson's felonies, and is set to enter a plea on Aug. 30.
In addition to the small business loans, Johnson also fraudulently received $436,524.80 in first and second draw loans for 11 independent contractors. Several were related to him or Hastey.
The U.S. Attorney's office says at least four of the victims were unaware that Johnson used their information to obtain the loans. They also didn't receive any proceeds from the loans.
Johnson opened bank accounts under the victim's names, transferred loan proceeds into the accounts and obtained debit cards for each account. He and Hastey then used the debit cards to spend the loans.
According to prosecutors, Johnson used his mother's and aunt's personal information and forged their signatures on loan documents. The women never received any of the money.