PHILADELPHIA, PA

50-year old Devron Brown, of Philadelphia has been accused of stealing close to $1million in PPP loans. The PPP Program, also known as the Paycheck Protection Program, was created near the height of the Coronavirus outbreak. The funds were supposed to give employers federal funds so they could pay employees, and cover the cost of other business-running expenses. The program was originally touted as a “great thing” for small businesses.

Shown is a portion of a Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program Borrower Application Form, Tuesday, April 21, 2020 in Washington. The Paycheck Protection was supposed to be a lifeline for small businesses, helping them stay afloat and keep their employees on the payroll during the coronavirus pandemic. But guidelines from the Small Business Administration say that businesses are ineligible if someone who owns at least 20 percent of the company is incarcerated, under indictment, on probation or parole or had been convicted of a felony within the last five years. Ineligible would-be applicants and advocates say the restrictions are a slap in the face for those who have served their time, especially from an administration that has trumpeted second chances. (AP Photo/Wayne Partlow)

According to KYW-News Philly (https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/category/news/), Brown’s charges include bank fraud and money laundering. The Feds said Brown applied for PPP Loans under the name of a business he created called “Just Us Construction Inc.” The federal indictment against Brown says, he forged the number of employees at the company and their wages and payroll taxes. The Feds say these things were done to raise the loan amount Brown applied for, which came to a grand total of $937,500….give or take a few thousand. Brown got that money in June of 2020. At some point earlier this year, Brown tried to get another PPP loan. This time he was denied for one reason or another.

Feds say Brown used the money to buy a new house in Florida, a motorcycle, an ATV, a luxury car , and diamond jewelry. If convicted on all charges, Brown faces a maximum 150-years in prison and a fine of more than $4 million.