Easton Man Charged in Superseding Indictment with Scheme to Purchase Home in Relative's Name Using COVID Relief Funds

BOSTON - An Easton man was charged yesterday in a superseding indictment for allegedly using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to secretly purchase a home in the name of a close relative.

Bill Dessaps, 47, was charged in a superseding indictment with a second count of wire fraud conspiracy. Dessaps was previously indicted in January 2024 on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and one count of bank fraud. In January 2024, five other individuals were charged for their alleged involvement in the PPP fraud scheme.

According to the charging document, Dessaps - the operator of an Abington-based used car dealership - allegedly conspired with individuals in Massachusetts and Florida to submit a fraudulent PPP application on behalf of Dessaps's dealership. It is alleged that the application they prepared and submitted for Dessaps's dealership falsely stated that the dealership had 40 employees and average monthly payroll expenses of $334,720. As a result of the applications, it is alleged that the lender disbursed a PPP loan of $836,800 to Dessaps. After receiving these funds, Dessaps allegedly made kickback payments to one or more of the individuals who assisted with the application.

The superseding indictment further alleges that, after Dessaps received the PPP loan, he purchased a $750,000 home in the name of a straw buyer-his close relative-because his credit score would have prevented him from obtaining a mortgage on favorable terms, and because he purchased the home using PPP funds, a purchase the PPP prohibits. It is alleged that Dessaps, his close relative, and a real estate agent submitted false mortgage application documents to a lender, including forms and forged records that inflated the relative's income and assets. For a portion of the home costs, Dessaps allegedly transferred PPP proceeds into a joint bank account that he and his relative controlled. After a lender denied the close relative's application for a secondary loan for the remaining funds, Dessaps and his real estate agent allegedly arranged a sham gift of $127,500 from the real estate agent's girlfriend to the close relative, which Dessaps wired to the girlfriend. Through these and other misrepresentations, Dessaps obtained a $510,000 mortgage on the home and lived in it.

The original indictment also charged Dessaps with attempting to obtain a "Second Draw" PPP loan through another fraudulent application in March 2021.

The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the laundering transaction. The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1,000,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra W. Amrhein of the Asset Recovery Unit are prosecuting 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.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.