Evan Graves, 40, of Alva, has plead guilty to wire fraud in connection with a $1.35 million COVID relief fraud scheme and now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

A sentencing date for Graves has not yet been set. As part of his guilty plea, Graves has agreed to forfeit approximately $1,355,600 and six properties in Fort Myers that he had purchased or funded using proceeds of his fraud.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, between June 20 and July 23, 2020, Graves electronically submitted 10 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of his various Fort Myers-based companies.

In each EIDL application, Graves falsely represented his companies’ number of employees, gross revenues, and lost rental income due to the COVID-19 disaster to qualify for large loan amounts and advance funding. In total, Graves’s fraudulent representations caused the SBA to approve his 10 loans and deposit approximately $1.35 million into bank accounts controlled by Graves.

Following disbursement of the EIDL funding, Graves unlawfully used the money to, among other things, pay off personal credit card debt, fund personal investment accounts, satisfy mortgages, and purchase real estate.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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