BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BROWARD COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Coral Springs resident Luke Joselin was just sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for fraudulently attempting to snag nearly $2M from the federal government for the Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP was part of the Coronovirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Joselin, 36, and co-conspirators Judlex Jean Louis and Renaldo Harrison flooded online loan processors by filing multiple fraudulent applications. Prosecutors during trial said they used “increasingly brazen tactics” and south “more and more money as the scheme progressed.”
The United States Department of Justice said Joselin first applied for and received a PPP loan of about $27,000 for his nonexistent sole proprietorship. He used a fake social security number and fake tax documents. He then coached Harrison and Jean Louis on how to do the same. Joselin and Jean Louis then applied for several more similarly sized PPP loans in the names of people whose identities they had stolen.
After obtaining these smaller-dollar PPP loans, Joselin, Harrison, and Jean Louis began submitting PPP loan applications worth around $180,000 for companies they controlled. These larger-dollar applications were typically for companies that had no real operations and also were supported by fake tax forms, including one form that Joselin, Harrison, and Jean Louis recycled in multiple applications, changing only the company name.
Following trial, a federal jury convicted Joselin of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to the prison term, a federal judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida also ordered Joselin to serve three years of supervised release and pay $812,857 in restitution and $396,477 in asset forfeiture.
Jean Louis and Harrison were charged separately and sentenced in the Southern District of Florida for their roles in the scheme.
Public records indicate Luke Joselin lives in “Country Club Village” in Coral Springs.
