Texas Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in $800,000 PPP Fraud Scheme

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Jacob Liticker, 27, of Houston, Texas was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Liticker was charged in the District of South Carolina for his role in a national fraud scheme related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress authorized the PPP program to provide emergency economic relief to businesses suffering economic harm during and as a result of the pandemic.

According to evidence presented in court, Liticker led a scheme that submitted 86 fraudulent PPP loan applications for himself and others, many of whom resided in South Carolina. The scheme resulted in more than $870,000 in fraudulent PPP loans being issued to recipients who were not entitled to the pandemic relief funds. Liticker attempted to obtain more - he requested nearly $1.8 million in fraudulent PPP loans.

Liticker drafted PPP loan applications that falsely claimed businesses suffered financial harm as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he manufactured false and fraudulent documents submitted with the applications, he submitted the loan applications himself, he tracked the progress of the loans, and he helped co-conspirators obtain full forgiveness for the loans. He did so while having no criminal record and in college studying business. In exchange for his services, Liticker received a portion of the fraudulently obtained funds. During the pendency this case, Liticker also violated his bond, his bond was revoked, and he is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Liticker to 24 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of court-ordered supervision and ordered him to pay $807,990.09 in restitution to the Small Business Administration. There is no parole in the federal system.

"Every dollar defrauded from the PPP program represents money stolen from legitimate businesses who needed support during a difficult time in our country," said Adair Ford Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. "This scheme took advantage of the public's generosity by stealing almost a million dollars from taxpayers. We thank our law enforcement partners for bringing accountability in this case."

"Jacob Liticker's sentencing should stand as a clear warning to those who seek to prey upon and defraud government programs," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office. "DCIS will vigorously pursue perpetrators who employ Service Members in furtherance of their crimes, as well as Service Members who willingly participate in criminal behavior against the American people, the very people they swore an oath to protect."

The case was investigated by the Airforce Office of Special Investigations, Department of Defense - Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Winston Marosek, who also serves as the Office's Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator, and Elliott B. Daniels prosecuted the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department's response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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