A former Amazon and Microsoft executive faces charges of fraudulently applying for up to $5.5 million in coronavirus relief funds for small business, The Seattle Times reports.
Mukund Mohan, was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to The Seattle Times.
He is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to GeekWire.
Mohan allegedly applied for multiple loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal relief program “intended to help businesses retain workers during the coronavirus pandemic,” The Seattle Times reports.
Prosecutors say the shell companies employed no workers. According to The Seattle Times, one application was for an unlicensed gaming company partly owned by Mohan’s teenage son. Mohan received $304,830 in PPP loans from that application.
According to The Economic Times, another application was for a company Mohan had acquired in May, also allegedly without employees.
The Economic Times reports Mohan received and laundered $231,000 into his personal Robinhood brokerage account, according to federal prosecutors.
Mohan isn’t the only one. GeekWire reports that a Lyft software-engineer was also charged for attempting to defraud the PPP back in May.
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