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How do state and federal crimes differ?

On Behalf of | Mar 28, 2023 | CRIMINAL DEFENSE - Federal Crimes

Federal crimes are crimes that either violate federal laws—these are laws that are legislated in the Congress and the Senate—or crimes that have crossed state lines and, therefore, have been committed in multiple states. Federal penalties tend to be harsher than state penalties with longer incarceration periods and steeper fines.

Paycheck Protection Program fraud

Early in the global health crisis, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to support small businesses hard hit by the lockdown. Loans were disbursed to small businesses to keep the lights on, that is, to meet payroll, and pay rent, utilities and miscellaneous costs.

As long as 60% of the funds disbursed went to payroll and were otherwise spent properly, they would be forgiven.

The program successfully kept the economy afloat but was also riddled with abuses, per the 2021 SBA Inspector General report.

Federal charges for Floridian for over $4M in alleged fraud

As attributed by NBC 6 Investigators, a Floridian male, age 36, was recently indicted for defrauding the PPP of $1.2 million by obtaining loans for three companies, which supposedly had 75 employees, but, in fact, did not even exist.

With those fraudulently obtained PPP funds, he bought a vacation rental home for $410,000 in cash. Those monies are not allowed to be used for real estate purchases.

The federal government is seeking to repossess that house, four cars, and $312,000 held in bank accounts in this man’s name and the names of his co-conspirators.

He also faces accusations of other economic crimes including cashing almost $1 million in fake checks and siphoning over $2 million in fraudulent tax refunds from his Miami tax preparation business.

Conviction of federal crimes may result in extremely severe penalties. Needless to say, if you or a loved one have run afoul of the law, it’s imperative to seek effective representation as quickly as possible.