Woodbridge Man Charged with Pandemic Relief Program Fraud Offenses

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that YASIR G. HAMED, 59, of Woodbridge, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with offenses stemming from an alleged scheme to defraud a COVID-19 pandemic relief program of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Hamed was arrested on November 13, 2024. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and was released on a $500,000 bond.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP"). The PPP was overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA"), and individual PPP loans were issued by private lenders, which received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and then made loans using the lenders' own funds, which were guaranteed by the SBA.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, Hamed, an accountant, had an ownership interest or representative relationship with several New Haven-based businesses, including Access Consulting and Professional Services Inc.; Connecticut Medical Transportation Inc.; Arabic Language Learning Program Inc.; Institute for Global Educational Exchange Inc.; Access Medical Transport Inc.; Ikea Car & Limo Inc.; Center of the World Tours, North America LLC.; and Sudanese American Friendship Association Inc. Between June 2020 and September 2021, Hamed submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of these companies, overstating employee numbers and average monthly payroll, and making other fraudulent representations. As part of the applications, he submitted false tax filings that had never been filed with the IRS.

It is further alleged that Hamed submitted PPP loan applications on behalf of companies owned by his clients. In at least one instance, Hamed convinced the owner of a business, which he knew was not active and had no employees, to seek PPP funding. Hamed prepared the paperwork for the PPP application and then took a significant portion of the loan proceeds.

Through this alleged scheme, Hamed received more than $700,000 in loan proceeds for himself and his family, and significant kickbacks from his clients. Hamed used the funds for personal expenses, including education expenses for a family member, and for downpayment on a $880,000 house in Woodbridge that he purchased in October 2020.

The complaint charges Hamed with bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years; wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and engaging in illegal monetary transactions, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.

Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.