By Charles E. Ramirez
The Detroit News
(TNS)
A certified public accountant from Detroit convicted of stealing $14.5 million in COVID-19 relief loans in Pennsylvania has been sentenced, a federal official said.
Matthew Lloyd Parker, 37, was given two years in prison by a federal court judge in Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Troy Rivetti, the acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
The judge also ordered him to pay $14.5 million in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Rivetti said.
Parker must also serve four years of supervised release once his prison term is completed, according to Rivetti.
In March, Rivetti said the scheme involving Parker was the largest known COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program fraud in his district.
Parker pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud conspiracy on May 15, 2024. The crime carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both.
His attorney was not immediately available for comment on Friday.
Authorities alleged Parker and other co-defendants defrauded the Small Business Administration and lenders of $14.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans between 2020 and 2021.
Investigators said Parker, a licensed certified public accountant, recruited hundreds of small businesses in Pittsburgh and Detroit for the alleged scheme. He allegedly falsified PPP loan applications.
Officials said the Small Business Administration approved 226 of those applications.
Federal prosecutors indicted Parker and co-defendants, Virginia Humphries of Pittsburgh and Marc Andrew Martin of Detroit, in June 2023. They were charged with fraud conspiracy, and bank fraud. The two charges combined carried a penalty of up to 50 years in prison.
Humphries, a credit repair specialist, recruited businesses for the scheme along with Parker, officials said. She pleaded guilty in March 2024 and was sentenced in May to one year in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution.
Martin pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud conspiracy in March. Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10.
Parker is the latest Michiganian to be in court on allegations of Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud.
Earlier this month, a Southfield doctor was convicted of fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan in July 2020.
In March, owners of a historic and private Detroit social club agreed to pay more than $357,000 to settle a federal complaint over alleged COVID-19 relief loan fraud.
In November, an Ann Arbor woman pleaded guilty to stealing more than $41,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans.
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©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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Tags: accountants, Accounting, COVID, fraud, PPP scam, Small Business
