Bergen County Man Charged in COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. - A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was indicted on charges that he fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Malak Faltawws, aka "Mark Andrews," 47, of Rutherford, New Jersey, is charged with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. He made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From March 2020 through November 2021, Faltawws fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 emergency relief funds, which included loans and cash advances meant for distressed small businesses under the EIDL program and PPP, by submitting false and fraudulent applications, inflating his businesses' revenue, payroll expenses, and number of employees. After receiving the fraudulent funds, he diverted the proceeds for his personal gain.

Each wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and each money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and investigators of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General John Gay, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aja Espinosa of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of the five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.