Man gets nearly 7 years for defrauding COVID relief program for more than $840,000
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Twin Cities man was sentenced Thursday to nearly seven years in prison for a COVID-19 relief scheme that defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program for more than $840,000.
The U.S. Attorney's Office District of Minnesota says that 33-year-old Kyle Brenizer, of St. Paul, was sentenced to 81 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Brenizer pleaded guilty in January to single counts of wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
According to federal investigators, Brenizer was the owner of a failed Brooklyn Park construction business, True-Cut Construction LLC, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, when the federal government offered a financial lifeline to businesses following the outbreak of COVID-19, Brenizer submitted "false and misleading documents" to the Paycheck Protection Program, even though his company did not have a current contractor license in Minnesota.
While Brenizer's initial application was denied, he filed a second one, but this time under the name of someone he falsely claimed owned 90% of True-Cut. This second application was approved, and he received $841,000 in federal funds.
In applying for the federal loans, Brenizer falsified bank statements and IRS documents, all the while claiming that True-Cut's average monthly payroll was $336,400 for roughly 30 employees.
Brenizer also failed to disclose that several felony charges were pending against him in Minnesota, including check forgery, identity theft, and theft by swindle.
After getting the money, Brenizer transferred the funds to a bank account unrelated to True-Cut, federal investigators say. He spent nearly $30,000 on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle among other "impermissible expenditures."
Brenizer was not the only Twin Cities businessman to take advantage of COVID-19 relief programs. In March, a Maple Grove man was sentenced to five years in prison for fraudulently applying for nearly $10 million in relief funds, of which he only received $1.7 million.
