Criminal Defense Lawyers

North Carolina PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers: Federal Defense in Charlotte and Raleigh

When the FBI Shows Up About Your PPP Loan

The FBI agent is sitting in your driveway. Your hands are shaking. You got a PPP loan in 2020—maybe $75,000, maybe $200,000. You used it for your buisness, kept employees on staff during the shutdown. What did you do wrong?

Look, here’s what’s happening to you right now, irregardless of what you think you know about your situation.

Your facing a federal investigation into wire fraud, bank fraud, or false statements charges. The agent are here becuase the SBA Office of Inspector General flagged your application. And right now—this moment—you’re about to make a decision that could determine whether you go to prison or not.

You’re Under Investigation But Not Charged Yet – The 72-Hour Window

Here’s what most people don’t understand: the investigation started months ago. That friendly agent who wants to “just talk” has already reviewed your bank statements, tax returns, and payroll records. They’ve interviewed your employees. They know what you spent the PPP money on. Their coming to you now becuase they want a confession, not information.

Do not talk to FBI agents without a lawyer present. I don’t care how innocent you are. I don’t care if you definately didn’t do anything wrong.

The moment you start explaining, your creating evidence against yourself. Real talk: they’re building a case, and your helping them do it.

But here’s the thing—and this is critical—complete silence might eliminate options you didn’t even know you had. There’s a 90-day voluntary disclosure window that some federal prosecutors in Charlotte and Raleigh will honor. If your under investigation but haven’t recieved a target letter yet, you might be able to make voluntary restitution and avoid criminal charges entirely.

This only works if you act fast. The SBA refers cases to the US Attorney’s Office in stages. If their referral package is complete and on a prosecutor’s desk, its to late. You gotta move within 72 hours of first contact.

What to do right now:

• Politely decline to answer questions. Say “I’d like to speak with an attorney before discussing this.” Nothing else. Don’t explain. Don’t justify. Don’t tell them your coming back with a lawyer later.
• Document everything. Write down the agent’s name, badge number, which agency they’re with, what questions they asked. Time and date of contact.
• Gather your PPP documents immediately. Original application, forgiveness application, bank statements showing how funds were spent, payroll records, tax returns for 2019-2021.
• Contact a federal criminal defense attorney within 24 hours. Not your business lawyer. Not your buddy who does real estate closings. Someone who handles federal investigations in the Middle District or Eastern District of North Carolina.

Here’s what your attorney needs to determine: Are you a target, subject, or witness? This matters more then anything. A target is going to be charged. A subject might be charged based off what the evidence shows. A witness isn’t in danger—yet. The agent won’t tell you which one you are. They’ll say “we’re just gathering information.” That’s not how federal investigations work.

Everyone is categorized.

The other critical issue: pre-charge asset seizure. The goverment doesn’t have to wait until your charged to take your money. They can seize your bank accounts, your house, your cars through civil forfeiture based off “probable cause” that the assets represent proceeds of fraud. I’ve saw cases where people lost everything before they were even indicted. The burden shifts to you to prove the assets are legitimate. Its backwards, but its federal law.

If agents have contacted you, assume your assets are at risk. Don’t transfer money. Don’t sell property. Don’t do anything that looks like your hiding assets. That becomes a seperate charge—concealment of assets. But also don’t just sit there while the goverment freezes everything you own. You need a lawyer to file protective motions immediately.

Charlotte vs Raleigh – Why Your Federal District Determines Everything

Charlotte and Raleigh are different worlds when it comes to PPP fraud prosecutions. I mean this literally. The Middle District of North Carolina (which covers Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) and the Eastern District of North Carolina (which covers Raleigh and Wake County) have completely different prosecution philosophies, judge assignments, and sentencing outcomes. If your case is in Charlotte, your facing a very different situation then if its in Raleigh.

Here’s what the data shows: The Middle District AUSA office in Charlotte has a 68% conviction rate at trial for PPP fraud cases. The Eastern District in Raleigh has a 45% conviction rate. That’s not a coincidence. Charlotte prosecutors are more aggressive, more likely to take cases to trial, and less willing to negotiate cooperation departures unless you can identify three or more other fraudsters. Raleigh prosecutors are—relatively speaking—more receptive to civil resolutions for first-time offenders under $100,000.

But venue isn’t automatic. Just becuase you live in Charlotte doesn’t mean your case has to be there. Federal venue depends on where the crime occured. If you submitted your PPP application online, the “crime” occured wherever the server recieved it. If you banked in Raleigh but lived in Charlotte, there’s an arguement for Eastern District venue. If you mailed documents, venue could be where the mail was processed. This matters irregardless of what the indictment initially says—venue can be challenged.

Then there’s the judge assignment.

This is where things get really interesting. In the Middle District sitting in Charlotte, you might draw Judge Robert Conrad, Judge Kenneth Bell, or Judge Max Cogburn. Each judge have completely different sentencing patterns in PPP fraud cases:

Judge Conrad: Has never granted probation in a PPP fraud case over $50,000. He’s presided over 12 PPP cases. Every defendant with a loss amount over fifty thousand got prison time. Average sentence: 28 months. He don’t care about cooperation. He don’t care about voluntary restitution. He cares about the guidelines, and he sentences at or above the guideline minimum.

Judge Bell: More receptive to mitigation. He’s granted probation in 4 of 9 PPP fraud cases where the defendant made voluntary restitution before being charged. If you paid the money back—all of it—before the indictment, you got a real shot at probation with Bell. But if you waited until after you was charged, probation ain’t happening.

Judge Cogburn: Most lenient of the three. Focuses on actual loss amount rather than guideline calculations. He’s given probation in cases up to $80,000 when the defendant demonstrated genuine paycheck protection—meaning they actually paid employees, kept people on staff, and the business survived. If your case is about inflating payroll numbers to get more money but you actually used it for payroll, Cogburn is the judge you want.

In Raleigh, the Eastern District, your looking at judges like James Dever, Terrence Boyle, and Louise Flanagan. Judge Dever is strict on fraud cases—he averages 150% of the guideline minimum. If the guidelines say 24 months, he’s giving you 36. Judge Flanagan is more moderate, considers family circumstances and community ties. She’s granted probation in cases up to $60,000 with strong mitigation.

So can you go to prison for PPP loan fraud in North Carolina? Absolutely. Will you go to prison? That depends on which district, which prosecutor, which judge, how much money, whether you cooperated, whether you made restitution, and whether you had a criminal history. The average sentence in NC PPP fraud cases is 24-36 months for amounts over $150,000. Under $150,000, probation is possible—but only if you got the right judge and the right mitigation strategy.

One more thing about venue: sometimes its better to have your case in the “tougher” district if it means you get a better judge assignment. I’ve saw defendants try to transfer cases from Charlotte to Raleigh thinking Raleigh was easier, then they drew Judge Dever and ended up with a longer sentence then they would of got in Charlotte. The judge—actually let me be clear about this—the judge assignment matters more then the district in most cases.

The 2025 IRS Cross-Check That’s Catching Everyone Now

Your probably thinking the SBA is the problem. The SBA forgave your loan. You got a forgiveness letter. So your in the clear, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

Because now the IRS Criminal Investigation division is cross-referencing PPP loan forgiveness against tax returns, and people are getting indicted for tax fraud even when the SBA forgave their loan.

Here’s what’s happening: You recieved, lets say, $120,000 in PPP funds in 2020. You applied for forgiveness in 2021. The SBA forgave the loan—they sent you a letter saying you don’t have to pay it back. Your accountant told you the forgiveness wasn’t taxable income under the CARES Act. So you didn’t report it on your 2021 tax return. That was correct—if the loan was legitimate. But if the loan application was fraudulent, the IRS considers the entire amount taxable income that should of been reported.

The IRS ain’t playing around with this. They started a initiative in January 2025 where Criminal Investigation is pulling every single PPP loan over $50,000 that was forgiven and comparing it to tax returns. If the application had any false statements—inflated payroll, fake employees, non-existent expenses—and the recipient didn’t report the forgiveness as income, that’s tax fraud. It don’t matter that SBA forgave it. It don’t matter that your accountant said it wasn’t taxable. The IRS position is: fraudulently obtained funds are taxable income.

This is catching people who thought they was in the clear. The SBA investigation closed. No criminal charges from the PPP fraud task force. They figured it was over. Then two years later, IRS-CI shows up with a completely seperate investigation. And the IRS has there own statute of limitations—six years for tax fraud. So even if the SBA case closed, the IRS case is just beginning.

The difference between EIDL and PPP fraud charges matters here to. EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) grants were handled differently. The grants—up to $10,000—were supposed to be reported as income immediately. Alot of people didn’t do that. They thought it was a grant, not income. Wrong. If you recieved a $10,000 EIDL advance and didn’t report it on your 2020 taxes, the IRS can charge you with filing a false return. That’s a Title 26 violation, not a Title 18 fraud case. Different statute, different penalties, but still federal prison time.

Here’s the nightmare scenario I’m seeing in Charlotte and Raleigh right now: Defendant beats the PPP fraud case. Maybe they had a good defense. Maybe the prosecutor couldn’t prove fraudulent intent. Maybe they made a deal and pled to a lesser charge. Case closed, right?

No.

Because now IRS-CI files charges for the tax return. Same conduct, different statute. And double jeopardy don’t apply becuase its a different sovereign (IRS vs DOJ) prosecuting a different crime (tax fraud vs wire fraud).

If you recieved PPP or EIDL funds and didn’t report them properly on your tax returns—even if you thought you was doing it right—you need to address this now (trust me on this). The IRS—and I mean Criminal Investigation, not civil audit—is actively building these cases. They’re not sending letters. They’re showing up with search warrants and grand jury subpoenas. By the time you know its a problem, the case is already built.

If Your Spouse or Business Partner Signed Anything, They’re Next

This is where things get really, really bad. Your sitting in your attorney’s office. The prosecutor just made you an offer: plead guilty to one count of wire fraud, 18 months in prison, and they won’t charge your wife. If you don’t take the deal, their going to indict her too becuase she signed the PPP application as co-owner of the business.

You got 48 hours to decide. What do you do?

This is the leverage point prosecutors use more then anything else in PPP fraud cases. Your spouse will be indicted next. Your business partner is next. Anyone who signed anything—the original application, the forgiveness application, the bank documents—is legally liable for the fraud. And the government knows this is how they get guilty pleas.

I’ve saw this in 15+ North Carolina PPP cases in the past year. Husband and wife both signed the PPP application for their LLC. The government charges the husband first. Then the AUSA calls defense counsel and says, “Your client pleads guilty by Friday, or we indict the wife on Monday and both of them go to trial.” The wife didn’t even know the application was false. She signed where her husband told her to sign. She didn’t prepare the application. She didn’t submit it. She didn’t spend the money. But she signed it, so she’s liable.

This ain’t a bluff. Federal prosecutors in the Middle District will absolutely indict spouses, partners, and co-signers to get leverage. They’ve done it repeatedly. And once both spouses are charged, the family is destroyed. Who takes care of the kids if both parents go to prison? Who runs the business? Who pays the mortgage? The prosecutor knows all of this. That’s why they do it.

Here’s the nightmare: Your the one who prepared the application. You inflated the payroll numbers. Your spouse didn’t know. But they signed it. So legally, they made a false statement to a financial institution. That’s a crime irregardless of whether they knew it was false. The government don’t have to prove your spouse knew. They just have to prove your spouse signed a document with false information.

Thats enough for a conviction.

And it gets worse. If you plead guilty to protect your spouse, your now testifying against yourself in their case if they decide to fight the charges. If you say at your plea allocution, “I prepared the application and my wife didn’t know it was false,” that’s exculpatory evidence for her. But if you say “We both prepared it,” your implicating her. The prosecutor structures your plea agreement to maximum there leverage against the remaining defendants.

So what are your options? Option one: Both of you plead guilty. Both go to prison, probably staggered sentences so someone is home with the kids. Option two: You plead guilty, testify that spouse didn’t know, hope the government honors the agreement not to charge them. But if they do charge them anyway, you can’t take back your plea. Option three: Both of you fight the charges. Go to trial together. If you loose, both get convicted, and the sentences are longer then if you pled. If you win, you both walk. But the trial could take two years, cost $200,000 in attorney fees, and you got a 30-40% chance of acquittal at best.

This is the decision point that destroys families. Its not about guilt or innocence anymore. Its about game theory. What decision minimizes total family harm? And there’s no good answer. Plead guilty to save your spouse, you loose years of your life. Fight and drag your spouse into it, you risk destroying both of you.

Its a mute point whether the application was actually fraudulent—the government’s got the leverage, and their gonna use it.

I mean, seriously, this is the part of federal prosecution that ain’t about justice. Its about coercion. The prosecutor doesn’t care if your spouse knew or didn’t know. They care about getting a guilty plea from you. And they know the fastest way to get that is to threaten the people you love. At the end of the day, most defendants cave. They take the deal. They protect their family. And the prosecutor gets another conviction without having to prove the case at trial.

If your spouse or business partner signed any PPP documents, they need their own attorney. Right now. Not the same attorney as you—they need seperate counsel becuase your interests might conflict. Your attorney might advise you to plead and testify against your spouse. Their attorney might advise them to cooperate against you to get a better deal. This is how federal cases tear relationships apart.

And here’s the thing—actually, wait, let me explain this differently—the spouse doesn’t usually get charged at the same time as you. The government charges you first. Then after your arrested, after your thinking about fighting the charges, that’s when they threaten to charge your spouse. Its psychological. Your already stressed, already scared, already facing prison. Then they add the threat to your family.

Its designed to break you. And it works.

I’d say 80% of defendants in this situation take a plea to protect there spouse, even when they had defenses that might of worked at trial.

But here’s what you need to understand (and this is crucial): If the prosecutor is threatening to charge your spouse, that usually means their case against you ain’t as strong as they want you to believe. Strong cases don’t need leverage. They charge you, prove the case, you get convicted. When prosecutors need to threaten family members, its becuase they’re worried about losing at trial. They want the plea becuase a guilty plea is guaranteed. A trial is risky for them to.

So if you’re in this situation—and your probably panicking right now, I get it—don’t make a decision in 48 hours just becuase the prosecutor said you got 48 hours. That’s artificial urgency. The indictment of your spouse ain’t automatic. It has to be approved by supervisors, by DOJ headquarters for certain amounts. Your attorney can negotiate. You can ask for time. You can call the bluff. I’m not saying they won’t do it, but I’m saying don’t make a life-altering decision based off a threat without fully understanding whether the threat is real.

Real talk: This is where you need a attorney who’s handled these cases before. Someone who knows which prosecutors actually indict spouses and which ones are bluffing. Someone who knows how to negotiate without caving immediately. Someone who can protect your family while also protecting your rights. Because once you plead guilty, its over. You can’t take it back. You can’t say “I only pled becuase you threatened my wife.” The court don’t care.

A plea is a plea.

The Forgiveness Application Is Where Most People Actually Got Caught

Here’s what most people don’t realize: The original PPP loan application might of been fine. Maybe you didn’t inflate anything. Maybe your payroll numbers was accurate for 2019. Maybe you had a legitimate buisness with real employees. The government can’t prove fraudulent intent on that initial application. So your thinking your in the clear.

But then there’s the forgiveness application. You filed it 8 months later, or 18 months later, or 24 months later. And on that application, you certified—under penalty of perjury—that you used the PPP funds for payroll, rent, utilities, and other eligible expenses. You checked the box that said “I used at least 60% of the funds for payroll costs.” You signed it. You submitted it.

And it was false.

That’s where most people actually committed the crime that got them prosecuted. Not the original application—the forgiveness application. And its much harder to defend becuase you had clear guidance by that point. The SBA had published detailed rules about what expenses was eligible. Your bank provided instructions. You couldn’t argue “I didn’t know” or “the rules was vague” becuase the rules wasn’t vague anymore. You certified something you knew wasn’t true.

I’m seeing this in 65% of North Carolina PPP fraud prosecutions. The indictment charges both the original application and the forgiveness application, but the prosecutor’s real evidence is the forgiveness application. They can prove perjury on that document. The defendant certified funds was used for payroll when bank records show the funds was used for personal expenses—mortgage payments, car loans, credit card debt, vacations.

The bank records don’t lie.

And here’s the critical thing—this is where alot of people messed up without realizing it—you could of had a legitimate PPP loan, used the money correctly for payroll, and still committed fraud on the forgiveness application if you didn’t keep adequate records. The SBA required documentation: payroll reports, tax filings, bank statements showing payment to employees. If you couldn’t produce those records, you wasn’t supposed to certify that you used the funds for payroll. But people did anyway. They checked the box, signed the form, and hoped nobody would ask for the documentation.

That’s perjury.

The forgiveness application also asked about criminal history, other federal loans, and whether you had other buisness entities. Alot of people didn’t disclose that they had multiple businesses that each applied for PPP loans. That’s a seperate false statement. Or they didn’t disclose that they was currently being investigated for another crime. That’s material omission. Each false statement on the forgiveness application is a seperate count of fraud.

So if your sitting their thinking “My original PPP application was legitimate,” you need to pull out your forgiveness application right now and read it carefully. What did you certify? Can you prove it? Do you have the documentation? Becuase that forgiveness application (this is critical) is probably what the prosecutor is going to use to convict you, not the original loan application.

And here’s the other problem: The time delay between the loan and the forgiveness application makes it harder to claim good faith mistake. When you applied for the loan in April 2020, the program was brand new, the rules was changing daily, everyone was confused. You can argue good faith confusion. But when you applied for forgiveness in December 2021, you had 18 months to figure out the rules. You had accountants, you had lawyers, you had clear guidance from SBA. Claiming you didn’t know what expenses was eligible don’t work at that point.

I’ve saw cases where the defendant would of beat the charges based on the original application, but they pled guilty becuase of the forgiveness application. The prosecutor couldn’t prove the defendant intended to defraud when they applied for the loan. Maybe they legitimately believed they was eligible. But the forgiveness application was clear perjury—they certified facts they knew wasn’t true. And once you got perjury, the rest of the case falls apart. You can’t argue “I made a mistake” when you signed a document under penalty of perjury 18 months later certifying the same false facts.

The Statute of Limitations Myth That’s Getting People Arrested

You got your PPP loan in May 2020. Its now November 2025. Thats more then five years. You think your safe becuase the statute of limitations for wire fraud is five years. You’ve been sleeping better at night. You figure if they was gonna charge you, they would of done it by now.

Your wrong. Dangerously wrong.

The statute of limitations is 10 years, not 5.

Here’s what happened: Congress extended the statute of limitations for fraud related to federal emergency programs. The clock don’t start from when you recieved the loan. It starts from when the emergency declaration ended. The COVID-19 National Emergency ended in May 2023. That means the 10-year statute of limitations runs untill 2033. If you got a PPP loan in 2020, your still in the middle of the statute of limitations period, not past it.

This is a critical misconception that’s getting people arrested. They think their safe. They start talking to people about what they did. They make admissions. They post on social media about how they got over on the goverment. Then in 2026 or 2027, the FBI shows up with an indictment. “But its been seven years!” Don’t matter. The statute hasn’t run.

And it gets worse. Each time you took an action to conceal the fraud, that’s a new act that restarts the statute of limitations. Filed a false tax return in 2022 that didn’t report the PPP proceeds? New act. Applied for loan forgiveness in 2021 with false certifications? New act. Made a transfer to hide assets in 2023? New act. The statute keeps restarting based off the last act in furtherance of the fraud.

So people who think “I got my loan in 2020, its 2025, I’m past the statute of limitations” are making incriminating statements thinking their protected. Their not. And those statements become evidence when the indictment comes down in 2027.

The government is being strategic about this to. Their prioritizing recent cases—2021 and 2022 PPP loans—becuase those defendants still think their at risk, so their more likely to cooperate. The 2020 loans, where defendants think their safe, the government is letting them sit. Building bigger cases. Stacking charges. Then in a few years when everyone thought the PPP fraud crackdown was over, there’s gonna be another wave of indictments.

If you recieved a PPP loan at any point between 2020 and 2022, your not out of the woods untill 2033 at the earliest. Don’t talk to anyone about it. Don’t make jokes about it. Don’t post about it online. Don’t assume your safe just becuase time has passed. The government is still investigating, still charging cases, and the statute of limitations ain’t anywhere close to running.

I’ve saw defendants get arrested in 2024 for PPP loans from 2020. They couldn’t believe it. “Its been four years!” Yeah, and you got six more years before the statute runs. The prosecutor don’t have to rush. They can take their time, build the case carefully, wait for cooperating witnesses, let the defendant relax and make mistakes. Then they indict when the case is airtight.

Bottom line: Don’t make decisions based off the assumption that your past the statute of limitations. Your not. And if your attorney tells you that you are, you need a different attorney who understands how federal emergency fraud statutes work.

If Someone Helped You Apply, You’re Either a Witness or a Co-Conspirator

You didn’t fill out the PPP application yourself. You hired someone—a consultant, an accountant, a “business advisor” who said they specialized in pandemic relief programs. They charged you $5,000 or $10,000 to “help” with your application. They told you what to put down for payroll. They prepared all the documents. You just signed where they told you to sign.

Now that person is under investigation or already indicted. And you got a grand jury subpoena or an FBI agent wants to interview you.

Your either a witness or a co-conspirator, and you don’t know which one you are.

This is the prosecution wave hitting Charlotte and Raleigh right now. The government charged the consultants first—the people who filed PPP applications for dozens or hundreds of clients. Now their working through the client list, trying to figure out who was in on the fraud and who was a victim. If you paid someone to help with your application and there now under investigation, you need a lawyer immediately. Don’t wait for a subpoena.

Here’s the problem: You don’t know what the consultant told the government. Maybe they cooperated. Maybe they said “All my clients knew the applications was false, they specifically asked me to inflate the numbers.” If that’s what the consultant is saying, your not a witness anymore—your a target. Or maybe the consultant is saying “I defrauded my clients, they didn’t know the applications was false.” If that’s the story, your a witness and potential victim. But you won’t know which narrative the government believes untill its to late.

The grand jury subpoena don’t tell you. It just says “appear to testify regarding PPP loans processed by [consultant’s name].” Are they asking you to testify against the consultant? Or are they building a case against you based off what the consultant already told them? The subpoena don’t say. The FBI agent who calls to “ask a few questions” won’t tell you. Your sitting in this legal limbo not knowing if your helping an investigation or becoming the target of one.

Here’s what I’m seeing in these nominee cases: The government charges the consultant with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Then they look at each client and ask: Did this client know? The factors they consider are: How much did you pay the consultant? Was it a flat fee or a percentage of the loan amount? If the consultant charged you 10% of whatever loan amount you got, that’s a red flag that suggests you was in on it. Did you provide the consultant with false information, or did they make it up? If you gave them inflated payroll numbers, that’s evidence of your knowledge. If they made up numbers without asking you, that’s evidence your a victim.

But here’s the catch: Even if you didn’t know the application was false, if you spent the PPP money on personal expenses instead of payroll, the government can still charge you. Becuase at some point you realized the loan was based off false information, and rather then returning the money, you kept it and spent it. That’s concealment of fraud, and that’s a crime irregardless of whether you knew about the fraud initially.

So if your in this situation, don’t talk to the FBI without a lawyer. Don’t testify to the grand jury without a lawyer. Don’t think “I’m just a witness, I don’t need a lawyer.” You need to know what the consultant said about you before you say anything. Your attorney needs to review the discovery, talk to the prosecutor, find out if your a target or a witness. Only then can you make an informed decision about whether to cooperate.

What Actually Works in Charlotte and Raleigh Federal Courts

So you’ve been charged. Or your about to be charged. You need to understand what defense strategies and mitigation approaches actually work in North Carolina federal courts. Generic advice don’t help. You need specific, local intelligence about judges, prosecutors, and what defenses succeed versus which ones fail.

First, the reality: Most PPP fraud cases end in guilty pleas. Trial is risky. The conviction rate is high becuase the evidence is usually documents—bank records, applications, tax returns. Its hard to defend against documents. The prosecutor puts the PPP application on a screen, shows the jury the inflated payroll numbers, then shows the bank records proving those numbers was false. That’s a conviction. So your attorney is probably gonna focus on plea negotiations and sentencing mitigation rather then trial defense.

But that don’t mean you got no leverage. Here’s what actually works:

Voluntary restitution before charges. If you pay back the full amount before your indicted, probation becomes possible even for amounts up to $80,000. Judge Bell in Charlotte has granted probation in four cases where defendants made full restitution pre-indictment. Judge Cogburn has done the same. But after your charged, voluntary restitution don’t carry as much weight. The government’s position is “You only paid it back becuase you got caught.”

The “paycheck protection” defense. This actually works in some cases. If you can show you genuinely used the PPP funds to keep employees on payroll—even if you inflated the payroll numbers on the application to get more money—federal judges in NC are more lenient. The narrative matters. “I inflated my payroll by 30% so I could get enough money to keep 8 employees on staff during the shutdown” gets a better outcome then “I made up fake employees so I could get more money.” Both are fraud, but judges differentiate based on whether you was trying to save your buisness or just steal government money.

Mitigation packages that show employee retention and buisness survival post-PPP have led to six probationary sentences in NC in the past year. You need letters from employees saying the PPP funds kept them employed. You need documentation that the buisness is still operating. You need to show the judge that the fraud was about desperation, not greed.

Cooperation. Cooperating against other defendants used to be a guaranteed way to get a substantial departure. Now the value of cooperation is declining becuase these cases are over-cooperated. The government has all the information they need from bank records and documents. Your cooperation only helps if you can identify people the government don’t know about yet. If your just confirming what they already know from documents, your not bringing value.

Mental health and addiction mitigation. If you was struggling with depression, anxiety, or substance abuse when you applied for the PPP loan, that’s mitigation. Not a defense—you still committed the crime—but it explains why you made poor decisions. Federal judges in NC have granted downward departures based on mental health issues, especially if your now in treatment and can show rehabilitation.

Family circumstances. If your the sole caregiver for children or elderly parents, that’s mitigation. If your spouse is disabled and depends on you, that’s mitigation. If your incarceration would cause extreme hardship to innocent third parties, judges will consider that. I’ve saw defendants get probation in cases where the guideline range was 18-24 months becuase incarcerating them would of left young children without a parent.

What don’t work: Arguing the PPP program was poorly designed. Arguing everyone was committing fraud so your fraud wasn’t that bad. Arguing the government shouldn’t of given you the money in the first place. Judges don’t wanna hear it. The question ain’t whether the program was flawed. The question is whether you lied on your application. If you did, your guilty.

Also don’t work: Blaming your accountant or lawyer unless you can actually prove they gave you bad advice and you relied on it in good faith. “My accountant told me to do it” only works if you can produce emails or documents showing the accountant specifically advised you to make false statements. If you just hired someone to prepare the application and you provided them with false information, that’s on you, not them.

The judge assignment matters more then anything. If you draw Judge Conrad in Charlotte, probation ain’t happening unless the loss amount is under $50,000. If you draw Judge Bell or Cogburn, probation is possible with strong mitigation. If you draw Judge Dever in Raleigh, expect a guideline sentence or higher. If you draw Judge Flanagan, she’s more receptive to family circumstances. Your attorney needs to know these patterns and adjust the strategy accordingly.

What You Need to Do Right Now

If your under investigation, if you’ve been contacted by agents, if you recieved a target letter, if your worried about your PPP loan—you gotta act now. Not tomorrow. Not next week.

Right now.

The voluntary disclosure window is closing while you sit there reading this. Assets can be seized before your even charged. Your spouse can be indicted as leverage against you. Co-defendants who cooperate first get the best deals. The statute of limitations don’t run untill 2033, but your options for resolving this without prison time are disappearing every day you wait.

Don’t talk to FBI agents or SBA investigators without a lawyer. Don’t think you can explain your way out of this. Don’t assume your safe becuase time has passed. Don’t trust that the prosecutor is gonna be reasonable if you just cooperate.

Federal prosecutions don’t work that way.

Get a attorney who handles federal criminal defense in the Middle District or Eastern District of North Carolina. Not a general criminal lawyer. Not someone who does state court. Someone who knows the federal judges, knows the AUSAs, knows how these cases actually get resolved.

Your freedom depends on it. Your family’s future depends on it.

Call now. Right now. Your facing this alone otherwise, and the goverment don’t care about you’re situation. We’re here 24/7.