Bexar County PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

Bexar County PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers: What Federal Prosecutors Already Know About Your Case

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to provide clarity when the federal government is already building a case against you – even if you don’t know it yet. If you’re searching for a PPP loan fraud lawyer in Bexar County, there’s something you need to understand immediately: the investigation probably started before you realized anything was wrong.

Here’s the reality that defense attorneys see every day in San Antonio federal court. The FBI, IRS, and SBA have been coordinating through the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force since the pandemic ended. They’ve pulled bank records. They’ve compared PPP applications to actual payroll deposits. They’ve cross-referenced tax filings. By the time anyone contacts you – whether it’s an agent “just wanting to clear things up” or a subpoena arriving at your business – the case is already built. You’re not at the beginning of an investigation. You’re near the end of one.

Todd Spodek and the team at Spodek Law Group have defended clients facing PPP fraud charges across multiple federal districts, including the Western District of Texas. We’ve seen what happens when people assume this is just a paperwork issue. We’ve watched defendants make the critical mistake of thinking they can explain their way out of federal charges. This article will explain what you’re actually facing – because understanding the system is the first step toward surviving it.

30 Years for a PPP Application: The Charges Nobody Expects

Heres what most people dont realize about PPP fraud prosecution. They think the penalties must be proportional to the amount. Steal a little, face a little time. Steal a lot, face serious consequences. They assume theres some threshold below which prosecutors wont bother – some minimum amount that makes prosecution not worth the governments time and resources.

Thats not how federal law works. And thats definately not how PPP fraud enforcement works.

A single PPP application can trigger wire fraud charges under 18 USC 1343 – carrying up to 30 years in federal prison. Every wire transfer, every electronic communication, every email related to the application can be a seperate count. The same application can trigger bank fraud charges under 18 USC 1344 – another 30 years. Add conspiracy charges under 18 USC 371, money laundering under 18 USC 1956 if you moved the funds in certain ways, and false statements under 18 USC 1001 if you talked to investigators – and suddenly your looking at exposure that rivals violent crime sentences.

The sentancing guidelines make this even worse. Under USSG 2B1.1, the base offense level for fraud increases dramaticly based on loss amount. But heres the kicker: the “loss” isnt necesarily what you kept. Its the amount of the fraudulent application. Even if you paid some back, even if you used most of it legitimatly, the loss calculation starts with the full amount.

In Cincinnati, a man recieved 18 months in federal prison for PPP fraud totaling $21,000. Not millions. Not hundreds of thousands. Twenty-one thousand dollars. The judge didnt care that it was a relatively small amount. The statute says wire fraud, and wire fraud means federal prison. Thats 18 months away from your family, your business, your life – for an amount many people would consider trivial in the context of pandemic relief programs that distributed hundreds of billions of dollars.

According to the DOJ, federal judges in 2024 and 2025 are varrying upward more often then down in PPP fraud cases. The early pandemic leniency is gone. Judges who may have been sympathetic in 2021 are now treating these cases as what prosecutors always said they were: serious federal crimes that demand serious consequences.

Lets be clear about what this means for Bexar County defendants. The Western District of Texas, which covers San Antonio, has been aggressivly prosecuting pandemic fraud cases since the Task Force was created. Federal prosecutors at the John H. Wood Jr. U.S. Courthouse arnt looking for reasons to give you a break. There looking to add to the Task Forces conviction statistics. Your case isnt an exception to them – its a number.

The Investigation That Started Without You

OK so heres the part that really matters. Most defendants think there investigation begins when an agent contacts them. They imagine that knock on the door is the starting point – now the government will look into things, and theyve got time to prepare. They think theres still a window to get there affairs in order, to consult with accountants, to figure out what happened.

Thats completly backwards. And understanding this is crucial to understanding why early defense counsel matters so much.

The investigation started with your bank records. The SBA shared loan application data with federal investigators – not just for flagged applications, but for massive datasets that investigators could analyze for patterns. Your PPP application claimed a certain number of employees and a certain average payroll. Investigators compared those numbers to what actualy flowed through your bank accounts. They pulled your business tax returns. They requested 941 forms showing payroll tax deposits. They cross-referenced everything against each other.

Heres how the comparison works. You said you had 10 employees averaging $5,000 per month in payroll. Your bank records show deposits totaling $50,000 per month, but the actual payroll transfers were only $30,000. Your 941 forms show taxes withheld on $30,000 in wages, not $50,000. The discrepency is now documented from multiple independent sources. There is no explanation that makes all three match.

By the time anyone contacts you, theyve already identified these discrepancies. They already know what your claimed payroll was versus what you actualy deposited. They already have the documents that will become exhibits at trial. The investigation is essentialy complete. The friendly phone call from an agent isnt the beginning of an investigation – its the beginning of prosecution.

This is how federal investigations work. They build the case first, then approach the target. The question isnt weather they have evidence. Its weather you will make their case easier by talking to them. Everything you say becomes additional evidence. Every document you voluntarily provide confirms chains of custody. Every cooperation meeting gives them more ammunition.

Think about what that means. Every PPP fraud defendant in Bexar County who talked to agents without an attorney – and there are alot of them – handed prosecutors additional ammunition. Some added false statement charges to there original exposure becuase they missremembered details or told a story that contradicted documents. Some made admissions that eliminated potential defenses they didnt even know they had. All of them made the governments job easier. Some of them are now serving sentences that could of been avoided.

The Western District of Texas Prosecution Machine

The Western District of Texas, with its main office in San Antonio, has been particulary active in PPP fraud prosecutions. This isnt random. Federal prosecutors here have dedicated resources to pandemic fraud, and they need cases to justify there budget. The U.S. Attorneys office has made pandemic fraud a stated priority, which means line prosecutors are incentivized to bring these cases and judges are seeing them regulary.

Understanding how the Western District operates is essential for any Bexar County defendant. The district covers a massive geographic area – San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Waco, and the surrounding regions. But the major PPP fraud prosecutions in south Texas are typically handled out of the San Antonio division at the John H. Wood Jr. U.S. Courthouse. The prosecutors there have developed expertise in these cases. They know the patterns. They know the defenses. They know what works and what dosent.

Heres what recent prosecutions look like in this district.

Antonio Garcia, a San Antonio man, was sentanced to 51 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution. He submitted PPP applications with fabricated payroll records for construction companies. The funds went to vehicles, real estate, and expensive jewelry. The government traced every purchase.

James Michael Bergeron, also from San Antonio, was indicted on 11 counts related to wire fraud and money laundering. He allegedly misrepresented employee numbers and payroll amounts across multiple entities, securing millions in PPP and Restaurant Revitalization Fund money. His case is still pending, but the 11-count indictment shows how prosecutors stack charges to maximize pressure.

A Georgetown couple recieved a combined 32 years in federal prison for $3.5 million in PPP fraud. They used dormant business names to submit multiple applications. The government proved they knew exactly what they were doing – and the judge responded with sentances that shocked observers.

These arnt isolated examples. There the pattern. Federal judges in 2024 and 2025 are imposing harsher sentences then they did in 2021 and 2022. The window for leniency has closed. If your waiting for this to blow over, your making a critical mistake.

The FBI Employee Who Got 3 Months: What That Really Tells You

Now heres something that will either give you hope or make you furious, depending on your situation.

Christopher James Phillips was a former FBI employee. He used his FBI-issued credentials to verify his identity on a PPP application – the same credentials he had used in his law enforcement career. He recieved $37,500 in PPP funds for Phillips Global Realty LLC – a company he had formed just months earlier in December 2019. Six days after recieving the money, he wired $25,000 to a personal trading account. He lost all of it day trading. Not a business expense. Not payroll. Day trading.

His sentance? Three months of home confinement. Five years probation. Restitution of $39,771. No prison time whatsoever.

Compare that to the construction workers getting years in federal prison. Compare that to the small business owners facing decades of exposure for similar or smaller amounts. Compare that to Antonio Garcia’s 51 months for conduct that, while larger in scale, followed the same basic pattern: get PPP money, spend it on things it wasnt supposed to cover.

What does this tell you? The system isnt purely about the money. Its about who you are, how you present, weather you have resources for quality legal representation, and how your case is handled from the earliest stages. An FBI employee with presumably good legal representation and a sympathetic narrative – someone who could present himself as a professional who made a mistake rather then a fraudster – got home confinement. Others with similar or smaller amounts are sitting in federal prison right now.

This is were defense strategy actualy matters. The gap between home confinement and years in prison isnt just about the facts of what happened – its about how those facts are presented to prosecutors and judges, how early intervention happens before positions harden, and wheather the defendant made the classic mistakes that destroy otherwise defensible cases. Phillips presumably didnt talk to investigators without counsel. He presumably didnt destroy documents. He presumably had representation that knew how to present his case in the most favorable light. The result speaks for itself.

How Defendants Destroy There Own Cases

Let me tell you the two ways people turn bad situations into catastrophic ones.

First: talking to investigators without counsel. When an FBI agent calls and says they just want to “clear some things up,” they arnt trying to help you. There building a case. Every word you say can become evidence. If your statement contradicts any document theyve already collected – even on minor details – you just added a false statements charge under 18 USC 1001. Thats an additional federal felony on top of what you already faced.

Ive seen cases were the original PPP fraud exposure was managable, but the defendant talked there way into an obstruction charge that doubled there potential sentance. The instinct to explain, to show youre cooperative, to prove it was all a misunderstanding – that instinct is a trap.

Second: destroying records. When people realize there under investigation, some panic and start shredding documents. This is catastrophic. Under 18 USC 1519, destruction of evidence in a federal investigation is a separate felony carrying up to 20 years. Even if the original PPP fraud charge might of resulted in probation, the obstruction charge virtually garantees prison time.

And heres the thing prosecutors love: destruction of evidence is consciousness of guilt. The judge will instruct the jury that they can infer you knew you were guilty because you tried to hide the evidence. You just made the governments case for them.

Third mistake – and this is more subtle: paying back the money and thinking that resolves everything. Restitution doesnt prevent prosecution. It happens AFTER conviction. Youll still be charged, still face trial or plea, still have a federal felony conviction. The money you paid back becomes part of your sentance calculation, not a get-out-of-jail card.

What Defense Actually Looks Like in Bexar County

If your reading this and facing potential PPP fraud charges in Bexar County, you need to understand what your options actualy are. Not what you hope is possible. Not what you heard from someone who knew someone. What the actual landscape looks like for defendants in the Western District of Texas.

The first option is early intervention – getting defense counsel involved before charges are filed. This is when the widest range of possibilities exists, and its the option that most defendants waste by waiting. Sometimes cases can be resolved civily – paying back the money plus penalties, avoiding criminal prosecution entirely. This requires careful negotiation with prosecutors who have to be convinced that criminal charges arnt worth the resources when a civil resolution achieves the same goals. It dosent always work, but it works more often then defendants realize. The key is timing – once charges are filed, this option largely dissapears.

The second option is challenging the evidence. How did the government obtain your bank records? Was there a proper subpoena? Are the comparisons between your application and your actual business records actually accurate? Payroll calculations are complicated. Independent contractors versus employees matters – and the PPP rules on this changed during the program. Timing of payments matters. What counts as “payroll costs” under the program rules versus what appears in bank records is not always straightforward. Sometimes what looks like fraud is actualy a documentation problem or a misunderstanding of complex eligability rules that were being interpreted in real-time during a crisis.

The third option is challenging intent. PPP fraud requires knowingly making false statements. This is an essential element the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. If you relied on your accountant’s numbers, if you genuinly believed your employee count was accurate based on how your payroll company reported it, if there’s a legitimate explanation for the discrepancies based on the confusing and rapidly-changing program guidance – these become defenses. There not automatic wins, but they change the calculus for prosecutors deciding weather to risk trial against a defendant who has a colorable intent defense.

The fourth option, if charges are filed, is negotiating the best possible resolution. Substantial assistance – cooperating against others involved in larger schemes – can result in sentance reductions through a 5K1.1 motion. Accepting responsability early affects guidline calculations under USSG 3E1.1. Presenting mitigation evidence about your personal circumstances, your family situation, your lack of criminal history, your contributions to the comunity – all of this can influence sentancing decisions even when the guidline range is high.

The fifth option, which shouldnt be overlooked, is trial. Prosecutors have to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. There forensic accountants who can testify about ambiguities in the financial records. There are legal challenges to how “loss amount” was calculated. There are constitutional issues with how some investigations were conducted. Not every case should go to trial – most shouldnt – but the decision requires careful analysis of the specific facts and evidence.

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve handled PPP fraud cases across federal districts. We understand how Western District of Texas prosecutors build these cases. We know what works in negotiation and what dosent. We’ve seen the difference between defendants who got ahead of there cases and those who waited untill it was to late.

The federal PPP fraud enforcement wave isnt over. Prosecutors are still filing cases in 2025. The statute of limitations for wire fraud is five years, for bank fraud its ten years. If you have any reason to believe your PPP application might attract scrutiny – discrepancies in your numbers, unusual use of funds, connections to other defendants who have already been charged – dont wait for the knock on the door.

The investigation may have already started. The question is wheather you act now while options still exist, or wait untill the only option left is damage control. Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. What happens next depends on the decisions you make now.