{"id":53926,"date":"2023-08-25T15:08:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T22:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=53926"},"modified":"2023-08-25T15:09:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T22:09:48","slug":"53926","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=53926","title":{"rendered":"Calif. Man Guilty of Fraudulently Obtaining $345,000 in COVID-19 Relief Loans"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON D.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"A San Fernando Valley man plead guilty to fraudulently obtaining $345,108 in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans from a financial institution and the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Justice Department announced Friday.<\/p>\n

Artur Chanchikyan, 55, of Porter Ranch, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of wire fraud.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, Chanchikyan owned Gentle Touch Home Health Care Inc., a home health agency located in North Hollywood.<\/p>\n

On or about Dec. 27, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) placed Chanchikyan under Medicare payment suspension based on fraud allegations.<\/p>\n

While under suspension, around April 2020, Chanchikyan applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan seeking $160,000 on behalf of Gentle Touch.<\/p>\n

\"\"In the PPP application, Chanchikyan made false representations, including the number of employees to whom Gentle Touch paid wages and Gentle Touch\u2019s average monthly payroll expenses at the time of the application, and false certifications that the loan would be used for permissible business purposes by Gentle Touch.<\/p>\n

As a result, Gentle Touch received approximately $45,472 in PPP loan proceeds.<\/p>\n

Around April 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program deposited approximately $139,736 into Gentle Touch\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n

The PRF automatically distributed funds to providers who met certain criteria to help healthcare providers who were financially impacted by COVID-19, as well as to provide care to patients who were suffering from COVID-19 and compensate providers for the cost of that care.<\/p>\n

\"\"On or about May 1, 2020, Chanchikyan falsely told HHS that he would use the funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 or reimburse Gentle Touch for health-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 as required.<\/p>\n

Around July 2020, Chanchikyan submitted an application to the SBA seeking a low-interest loan from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program.<\/p>\n

In the EIDL application, Chanchikyan falsely represented the number of employees at Gentle Touch and falsely certified that the loan would be used for permissible business purposes.<\/p>\n

As a result, Gentle Touch received approximately $159,900 in EIDL proceeds.<\/p>\n

Chanchikyan used the funds from the PPP, PRF, and EIDL programs for his benefit and purposes different from those he certified.<\/p>\n

Chanchikyan is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5 and faces up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.<\/p>\n

The HHS-OIG and FBI Los Angeles Field Office are investigating the case.<\/p>\n

Trial attorneys Helen H. Lee, Patrick J. Queenan, and Laura Connelly of the Criminal Division\u2019s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON D.C. A San Fernando Valley man plead guilty to fraudulently obtaining $345,108 in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans from a financial institution and the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Justice Department announced…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nCalif. Man Guilty of Fraudulently Obtaining $345,000 in COVID-19 Relief Loans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WASHINGTON D.C. 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