Morrison man gets 4 years for illegally obtaining PPP loans during COVID-19 pandemic

A Morrison man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison after he illegally obtained two Paycheck Protection Program loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Richard Nieto, 39, took a deal and pleaded guilty last month to wire fraud and money laundering in federal court, according to court records.

The plea deal dropped two additional counts of wire fraud and three money laundering charges from Nieto’s case, court records show.

William Martinez, a senior judge for the United States District Court in the District of Colorado, sentenced Nieto on May 29 to 46 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $962,438.85 in restitution, according to court records.

Nieto submitted three fraudulent PPP loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. Nieto was given two PPP loans totaling just over $913,500.

Federal officials said Nieto inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for his business, Denver Pro Painting & Contracting, and fabricated tax returns for a second, fake business.

Before making a single payment on either loan, Nieto submitted fraudulent applications for loan forgiveness, federal officials said.

One of his PPP loans was fully forgiven, according to the news release.

Nieto used the loan money to pay a home mortgage, purchase bitcoin, buy gold and silver coins, contribute to an investment account and invest in a friend’s startup business, federal officials said.

“This is another case of someone using for personal gain a program meant to help people suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Acting United States Attorney J. Bishop Grewell stated in the release. “I want the public to know that we are aggressively prosecuting people who stole from this relief program.”

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