By Charles E. Ramirez
The Detroit News
(TNS)
A Farmington Hills, MI, man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme, officials said.
Jawan Simpson, 37, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a count of wire fraud, according to federal court records.
He faces up to 20 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said.
A date for Simpson’s sentencing in U.S. District Court in Detroit has yet to be scheduled.
The case
Federal officials said Simpson, a tax preparer and certified public accountant, defrauded the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program of more than $2 million.
“Exploiting a federal relief program during a national crisis for personal financial gain is a serious betrayal of the public trust,” Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in a statement. “Today’s guilty plea represents an important step toward accountability.”
On Wednesday, Simpson’s attorney, Samuel Bennett, said his client accepts his responsibility.
“Mr. Simpson has taken responsibility for his actions since this investigation began over three years ago,” Bennett said. “He has never made any excuses for his behavior, and yesterday was the final step in him formally taking responsibility for the decisions he made in 2021 during a decidedly difficult time in his life. Mr. Simpson looks forward to putting this matter behind him, moving on with his life and being with his family.”
Authorities said Simpson admitted in his plea agreement that he promised family members, friends, and tax preparation clients, which included Amtrak employees, he could help them qualify for Paycheck Protection Program pandemic relief loans in exchange for a $2,000-$3,000 fee.
The program, launched in March 2020, provided emergency relief to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the program, the U.S. Small Business Administration would forgive the loans if recipients met eligibility and spending requirements.
Investigators said Simpson filed 111 applications for the program from January through July 2021 that contained false information. He allegedly created fake documents, including tax returns, and submitted them with the applications.
Officials said Simpson netted $2.3 million in government funds with the scheme.
He was arraigned in federal court on charges in November 2025.
“Jawan Simpson abused the trust placed in him as a tax preparer to defraud the American people of more than $2 million,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement.
Fraud cases
Simpson is among the most recent to be accused of fraud in Michigan.
On Monday, a Beverly Hills man convicted of scamming the government of more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud.
Last week, a Dearborn woman accused of defrauding Medicaid by billing for dental services that were never provided was charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise and 14 counts of Medicaid fraud.
Earlier this month, a Muskegon County woman convicted of stealing disaster relief for victims of 2022’s Hurricane Ian was sentenced to six months in prison.
Photo credit: jcomp/Freepik
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