Indian American tech executive charged with COVID-19 relief fraud

An Indian-American tech executive has been arrested for allegedly defrauding over USD 5.5 million under the coronavirus pandemic relief program, federal authorities have said. Mohan, 48, submitted fake and altered documents, including forged federal tax filings and altered incorporation documents in support of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications for six shell companies he owned, and then transferred some of the money to his Robinhood brokerage account “for his personal benefit,” the US Attorney alleged in its complaint.

Federal PPP loans are intended to help businesses retain workers during the coronavirus pandemic, the Seattle Times reported. In the complaint, the authorities alleged that in support of the fraudulent loan applications, Mohan made numerous false and misleading statements about the respective business operations and payroll expenses of the companies.

“Mohan misrepresented to a lender that, in 2019, his company Mahenjo Inc, had dozens of employees and paid millions of dollars in employee wages and payroll taxes,” the authorities said in the complaint. Mohan, a former executive at Amazon and Microsoft, submitted incorporation documents showing that he incorporated the company in 2018 and filed federal unemployment tax forms for 2019. Mohan has been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

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