Charges: Minneapolis woman pocketed millions in PPP loan scheme
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis woman faces seven counts of wire fraud in connection to fraud schemes, including one involving a PPP loan.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Khemwattie Singh, 52, was CEO of a Minnesota-based healthcare solutions company called Global Medical Services (GMS). Singh and other members of the company entered into factoring contracts with a Florida-based investment company to buy GMS's accounts receivable for more than $2 million.
Singh is accused of not paying that company more than $5 million in subsequent receivables, funneling the money to overseas accounts and shell companies.
The Florida company eventually sued GMS, which then was shuttered and dropped all of its employees from its payroll.
The DOJ says Singh then "submitted a false and misleading application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds" in the company's name in 2020 for $383,408 – claiming the company had 40 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $150,000.
In total, Singh received almost $300,000 in PPP funds, $116,600 of which was transferred to her own bank account to pay for "a home loan and credit card payments."
Singh made her initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court.