Oklahoma PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers: Federal Defense in Oklahoma City and Tulsa

The envelope from the Small Business Administration sits on your desk, unopened for three days. Your stomach turns every time you walk past it. When you finally tear it open, the words “request for repayment” jump off the page—$347,000 from that Paycheck Protection Program loan you recieved back in 2020. The letter gives you 60 days to respond. Your first thought: “This is just a collection letter, right?” Your second thought, the one keeping you up at night: “What if its more then that?”

Here’s what that letter actually means—and why those 60 days might be the most important window of your life. Because once that deadline passes without the right response, your handling of a civil matter becomes a federal criminal investigation. And in Oklahoma, those investigations move faster then you think.

What You’re Actually Facing When the Federal Government Questions Your PPP Loan

Let me be clear about something: the feds don’t send letters because their curious. That SBA repayment request means someones already looked at your loan application, compared it to your tax returns and bank statements, and flagged discrepencies that don’t add up. In Oklahoma’s federal courts—whether your in the Western District covering Oklahoma City or the Northern District handling Tulsa—prosecutors have made PPP fraud cases a priority.

The charges they’re bringing aren’t misdemeanors. Bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 carries up to 30 years in federal prison. Wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 brings the same exposure. False statements to the SBA, prosecuted under 15 U.S.C. § 645, adds another two years that can run consecutively. And if prosecutors decide to charge conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371, that’s five more years of potential imprisonment.

Now, your not going to get 30 years for a PPP fraud case—that’s the statutory maximum, not what actually happens in Oklahoma courtrooms. But here’s what is happening: based on recent sentencing data from the Northern District, first-time offenders who fraudulently obtained between $150,000 and $500,000 are recieving 18 to 30 months in federal prison. That’s actual custody time, not probation.

There’s a common misconception among Oklahoma defendants about something called the “85% rule.” In Oklahoma state court, certain serious crimes require defendants to serve at least 85% of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole. I’ve had multiple clients ask me if that rule applies to their federal PPP fraud case. It doesn’t. Federal sentencing operates under completely diffrent guidelines. Federal prisoners earn what’s called “good time credit”—54 days per year served, which works out to about 47 days per year when you do the math. That’s roughly 15% off your sentance if you stay out of trouble. Less then the state system, not more.

But prison time isn’t the only consequence your facing. Restitution—meaning you have to pay back every dollar of PPP funds you received—is mandatory in fraud cases. The court will order it irregardless of whether you spent the money already. And then there’s asset forfeiture. The government can seize your house, your business, your vehicles, even your spouse’s joint bank accounts if they can trace PPP funds too those assets.

How PPP Fraud Investigations Actually Work in Oklahoma

The SBA didn’t just randomly pick your application out of millions. They’re using data analytics to flag loans that show specific red flags: payroll numbers that don’t match your quarterly tax filings, business bank accounts that don’t show the kind of transaction volume you claimed, applications where the employee count seems inflated compared to industry standards for your revenue level.

Once your file gets flagged, it goes to the SBA Office of Inspector General—the OIG. They’re the investigative arm, and there the ones who decide whether this looks like civil collection or criminal fraud. That 60-day repayment letter is your last chance to keep it civil. If you don’t respond, or if you respond in the wrong way, the OIG refers your case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. At that point, your dealing with federal prosecutors.

In Oklahoma, that means one of three offices: the Western District based in Oklahoma City (covering central and western Oklahoma), the Northern District based in Tulsa (covering the Tulsa metro and northern counties), or the Eastern District in Muskogee. The Western and Northern Districts handle the vast majority of PPP cases because that’s where Oklahoma’s population centers are.

Here’s what surprised me when I started handling these cases: how fast they move. Normally, federal financial fraud investigations take anywhere from six months to over a year before an indictment. PPP fraud cases in Oklahoma are getting presented to the grand jury in 45 to 60 days after the OIG refers them. Why? Because Oklahoma’s federal courts have a COVID-19 Fraud Task Force that expedites these cases. What that means practically is you have a narrower window for pre-indictment intervention then you would in almost any other type of federal fraud case.

The investigation itself follows a pattern. First, document requests—the OIG wants your business bank statements, tax returns, payroll records, employment documentation. They’ll subpoena your bank directly, so they already have those records before they ask you for them. They’re testing whether you’ll produce the real documents or create new ones. (Please, for the love of God, do not create new documents. That’s obstruction of justice, and it’s a seperate federal crime that will absolutely make everything worse.)

Second, they’ll want to interview you. They’ll call it a “courtesy interview” or “an opportunity to explain your side.” It ain’t. It’s an opportunity for you to make statements they’ll use against you at trial. You are not required to attend this interview. You should not attend without an attorney.

Third, they’ll look for evidence of intent. This is the critical part—the government has to prove you knowingly submitted false information, not that you made an honest mistake. They’re looking for emails where you discussed the application with partners or accountants. They’re pulling text messages where you might of joked about the loan. One client’s case got significantly worse when investigators found a text message where he told his brother “they’ll never check these numbers anyway lol.” That text became exhibit A in the prosecution’s case for intent.

Where Your Case Will Be Heard—And Why It Matters More Then You Think

Oklahoma has three federal judicial districts, and which one handles your case affects everything from which prosecutors you face to what your bond conditions might be to what sentence you’ll ultimately recieve if convicted. This isn’t just administrative detail—it can be the diffrence between prison time and a more favorable outcome.

The Western District, headquartered at the Robert S. Kerr Courthouse in Oklahoma City, covers Oklahoma and Cleveland counties plus all of western Oklahoma. If you submitted your PPP application while physically located in Oklahoma City, or if your business is based in the OKC metro, this is likely where your case will be prosecuted. The Western District uses magistrate judges for initial appearances, detention hearings, and pre-trial motions. That’s actually an advantage for defendants because experienced defense counsel can work with magistrate judges on bond conditions, then leverage those recommendations when the Article III district judge makes final decisions.

The Northern District, based in the Tulsa Federal Building, covers Tulsa, Wagoner, Rogers, and the entire northern tier of Oklahoma counties. Northern District prosecutors have been particulary aggressive on PPP fraud. In October 2023 alone, three separate Tulsa-area defendants were sentenced for PPP loan fraud schemes. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Whipple has been handling many of these prosecutions, and his approach is to charge everything: not just the bank fraud and wire fraud, but also seperate counts for false statements to the SBA under 15 U.S.C. § 645.

Venue matters for another reason: Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 18 says prosecutions must happen in the district where the offense was committed. For PPP applications submitted electronically, there’s sometimes a genuine question about where the offense occurred. Did the crime happen where you clicked “submit” on the application? Where the lender’s server received it? Where the bank processed it? Venue challenges don’t work in every case, but when they do work, they can move your prosecution from a more aggressive district to one with a better track record for defendants.

Common Mistakes That Turn a Bad Situation Into a Catastrophe

I’m gonna be honest with you: most people make their cases worse before they make them better. Not because their stupid, but because they don’t understand how federal investigations work and they panic. Here are the mistakes I see again and again—and what they actually cost you.

First, talking to investigators without a lawyer. The SBA-OIG investigator who calls you will sound friendly, reasonable, like they just want to clear up a few questions. They’ll say things like “we’re just trying to understand what happened” or “this is your chance to explain your side.” What they won’t tell you is that their building a criminal case and everything you say is being documented for eventual use at trial. You are not required to speak with them. You have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, and you should exercise it untill you’ve consulted with counsel.

Second, trying to “fix” your documentation after recieving an inquiry. Look, I get the impulse. You realize the payroll numbers you put on your PPP application were wrong, so you think you’ll just create corrected payroll records showing what you “meant” to submit. Don’t. The government already has your original documents from your bank and the SBA. When you produce different versions, you’re not fixing the problem—your committing a new crime. Obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1519 carries 20 years of prison time.

Third, assuming the SBA repayment letter is just a civil collection matter. It ain’t—or it won’t be for long. The SBA doesn’t send those letters unless the OIG has already reviewed your file and determined there’s potential fraud. That 60-day deadline isn’t arbitrary. Once that 60 days passes without a response or with an inadequate response, the OIG refers your case for criminal prosecution. At that point, just paying the money back doesn’t make the charges go away.

Fourth, hiding assets or transfering property. When someone realizes their facing potential asset forfeiture, the natural instinct is to protect what they have—transfer the house into a spouse’s name, move money to a relative’s account. The government sees this activity (they’re monitoring your bank accounts and property records once the investigation starts), and they charge it as a seperate crime: money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. One Oklahoma defendant transferred $180,000 from his business account to his wife’s personal account three days after recieving an SBA inquiry. The government charged him with money laundering and used the transfer as evidence of consciousness of guilt.

Fifth, waiting until after indictment to hire an attorney. Pre-indictment intervention is the single most valuable service a federal defense lawyer can provide in these cases, and it only works before charges are filed. Once your indicted, your options narrow significantly. Before indictment, an experienced lawyer can communicate with prosecutors, present evidence of good faith, negotiate a pre-charge disposition, or structure a cooperation agreement that reduces or eliminates charges.

What “Good Faith” Actually Means in PPP Fraud Defense

The government has to prove you knowingly submitted false information on your PPP application. Not that the information was wrong—that you knew it was wrong when you submitted it. That element, called mens rea or criminal intent, is where most PPP fraud defenses succeed or fail.

Remember what was happening in 2020. The CARES Act passed in March. The SBA had to design and implement an entirely new loan program in a matter of weeks. The guidance kept changing—sometimes daily. Banks were overwhelmed and couldn’t answer questions. The “economic necessity” certification that every applicant had to sign was incredibly vague. You had to certify that “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” But what does that mean?

Here’s what the SBA guidance said in April 2020: “Borrowers must make this certification in good faith, taking into account their current business activity and their ability to access other sources of liquidity.” That’s the entire guidance. It’s completely subjective. Some Oklahoma business owners certified economic necessity based on anticipated revenue loss rather then actual loss. Were they committing fraud, or were they making a good-faith judgment call based on vague regulatory language?

The good-faith defense focuses on what you believed at the time, not whether your belief turned out to be correct. If you can show that you reasonably interpreted the eligibility requirements based on the guidance available then, you didn’t have criminal intent. Evidence that supports good faith includes:

• Correspondence with your accountant or attorney asking about PPP eligibility requirements
• Notes or emails showing you researched the rules and tried to comply
• Reliance on your bank’s guidance or approval of your application
• Industry standards in your field—if other similar businesses interpreted the rules the same way
• The SBA’s own inconsistent guidance during the application period
• Expert testimony from accountants about how confusing the program requirements were

One of my clients owned an event planning business in Tulsa. Her revenue hadn’t declined yet in April 2020, but every single one of her contracts for May through August had been cancelled. She certified economic necessity based on those anticipated losses. The government charged her with fraud, saying her revenue hadn’t actually declined at the time of application. We defended on good faith: she reasonably believed that anticipated losses qualified as economic necessity (the guidance was ambiguous on that point). The jury acquitted.

Now, there are limits to the good-faith defense. It doesn’t work if you fabricated payroll records showing employees who never existed. It doesn’t work if you claimed your business had 25 employees when you knew it had 3. But the diffrence between fraud and fund misuse is huge. If you legitimately believed you qualified for the loan and applied in good faith, but then spent the money on non-payroll expenses, that’s breach of the loan agreement—a civil matter. Prosecutors prioritize cases where the application itself was fraudulent: fake payroll records, inflated employee counts, fabricated tax returns.

Your Options at Each Stage of the Investigation and Prosecution

The choices you make depend on where you are in the process. Federal PPP fraud cases move through distinct stages, and the strategies that work at one stage don’t work at another.

Stage 1: You’ve Received an SBA Repayment Letter

You have 60 days from the letter’s date to respond. This is the most important deadline in the entire process because it’s your last clear chance to prevent criminal charges. The SBA-OIG has reviewed your loan file and identified discrepencies they believe indicate fraud. They’re giving you a chance to repay before they refer the case to prosecutors.

Option A: Immediate repayment with explanation. If you have the funds available and there’s a good-faith explanation for any false statements, immediate repayment combined with a detailed explanation letter can sometimes prevent criminal referral. An attorney should draft this letter, not you. If you say the wrong thing, you’re providing evidence for a future prosecution.

Option B: Negotiate a repayment plan. If you don’t have the full amount but can pay it back over time, that’s sometimes acceptable to the SBA. This needs to be structured correctly—you want an agreement that explicitly resolves the matter civilly and prevents criminal referral.

Option C: Voluntary disclosure to prosecutors. In some cases, usually where the numbers are really wrong and repayment alone won’t solve the problem, the best move is voluntary disclosure. Your attorney contacts the U.S. Attorney’s Office directly, before the OIG referral, and presents your case. Prosecutors like cooperation, and early cooperation has value.

Stage 2: You’re Under Investigation (Target Letter or FBI Contact)

If you recieved a target letter, you probably have 30-60 days before the case goes to the grand jury. If FBI agents showed up at your business, indictment may be imminent. The OIG has referred your case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and prosecutors are building the case.

Proffer session. A proffer is a meeting between you, your attorney, and federal prosecutors where you explain what happened. You’re still potentially avoiding charges. The proffer is covered by protections that prevent prosecutors from using your statements directly against you at trial—but there are exceptions. Proffers should only happen when you have something valuable to offer: explanation of good-faith misunderstanding backed by solid evidence, or cooperation in other investigations.

Pre-indictment negotiations. Your attorney can negotiate directly with prosecutors about possible resolutions short of indictment. This might include a misdemeanor plea instead of felony charges, a deferred prosecution agreement, or even a declination if the evidence of intent is weak.

Stage 3: You’ve Been Indicted

You’ll have an initial appearance within 24-48 hours. The detention hearing happens within three days. You’ve been formally charged with federal crimes, and your case is now public record.

Bond and release conditions. In PPP fraud cases, most defendants are released on bond unless there’s evidence of flight risk. But the conditions matter. The court might require a secured bond, electronic monitoring, or travel restrictions. Your attorney’s job is to negotiate the least restrictive conditions possible.

Plea negotiations. Over 95% of federal cases end in guilty pleas. That doesn’t mean you should plead guilty—it means you need to understand what the government is offering. Plea negotiations focus on which charges you plead to (fewer counts mean lower sentencing guidelines), what the loss amount calculation will be, and whether the government will recommend a downward departure.

Trial preparation. If the plea offer is unacceptable or if you have a strong defense, you go to trial. Federal trials are complex and high-stakes. But they’re winnable, especially in PPP cases where intent is disputed. The government has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you knowingly submitted false information.

Stage 4: Sentencing

Sentencing typically happens 2-3 months after a guilty plea. The probation office prepares a presentence investigation report that calculates your sentencing guidelines range. Although the guidelines provide a recommended range, federal judges have discretion to depart or vary.

Guidelines calculation. The sentencing guidelines for fraud are based primarily on the loss amount. For PPP fraud, the loss is usually the amount of the loan. $150,000 to $250,000 puts you at a base offense level of 18. Add two levels because it involved government funds. If you accept responsibility and plead guilty, you get three levels back. That puts most first-time PPP defendants in the range of 18-30 months imprisonment.

Departures and variances. The sentencing guidelines are advisory, not mandatory. Judges can depart downward if there are specific factors the guidelines don’t account for. Judges can also vary below the guidelines if they believe the recommendation is excessive. In Oklahoma federal courts, especially in the Western District, judges have shown willingness to vary below guidelines in PPP cases where the defendant is a first-time offender.

Oklahoma-Specific Factors That Change the Calculation

If your facing PPP fraud charges in Oklahoma, there are some things specific to these federal districts that you should understand.

First, Oklahoma federal prosecutors have been more willing then many districts to resolve PPP cases with misdemeanor charges rather then felonies. I’ve seen multiple cases in the Western District where defendants who fraudulently obtained $50,000-$150,000 plead to misdemeanor false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. A misdemeanor means no federal prison time (maximum one year in jail, usually served as probation), and a significantly less damaging criminal record.

Second, Oklahoma federal judges have been sentencing below the national average in PPP fraud cases. Nationally, PPP fraud defendants are receiving sentences averaging 24-36 months for loss amounts of $150,000-$500,000. In Oklahoma, particularly in the Western District, those same loss amounts are resulting in sentences of 18-30 months for first-time offenders. That difference—six months of freedom—is significant.

Third, Oklahoma has a strong small business community culture that can play into good-faith defenses. Jurors and judges in Oklahoma City and Tulsa understand small business operations. They know that small business owners often handle their own bookkeeping and aren’t necessarily sophisticated about federal lending regulations. That local understanding can help when your defense is “I misunderstood the requirements.”

The Real Cost of Waiting vs. Acting Now

Every day you wait after recieving that SBA letter or FBI contact, your options narrow. The single biggest determinant of outcomes in PPP fraud cases is when the defendant hires counsel.

Defendants who hire attorneys within days of receiving the SBA repayment letter can sometimes resolve the entire matter civilly. The attorney drafts a detailed response explaining the good-faith basis for the application, provides supporting documentation, and structures a repayment plan. The SBA accepts the repayment and closes the matter without criminal referral. No charges, no prosecution, no federal criminal record. That option goes away after the 60-day deadline passes.

Defendants who hire attorneys during the investigation phase—after the OIG referral but before indictment—can sometimes negotiate pre-charge dispositions or significantly reduced charges. That leverage diminishes substantially after indictment because once charges are filed, prosecutors have publicly committed to the case.

Defendants who wait till after indictment are playing defense in the truest sense. Your negotiating from a position of weakness. The government has invested resources in your prosecution and obtained a grand jury indictment. You can still get favorable plea agreements, but its harder.

The other thing that changes over time is asset protection. Once the government freezes your accounts or gets restraining orders on your property, its too late. If you act early, an experienced attorney can structure agreements that protect certain assets from forfeiture, negotiate restitution amounts that account for your ability to pay, and ensure that your family isn’t left destitute.

How to Choose the Right Federal Defense Attorney in Oklahoma

Not every criminal defense attorney can handle federal PPP fraud cases effectively. These cases require specific knowledge and experience that most state-court criminal defense lawyers don’t have.

Federal court experience. Federal criminal procedure is fundamentally diffrent from state criminal procedure. The rules are different, the deadlines are different, the sentencing system is completely different. You want someone who practices regularly in federal court and knows the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

PPP fraud case experience specifically. These cases have unique issues: the CARES Act’s eligibility requirements, the SBA’s changing guidance during 2020-2021, the specific elements prosecutors must prove. An attorney who’s handled multiple PPP fraud cases knows which arguments resonate with Oklahoma prosecutors and judges.

Admission to practice in Oklahoma’s federal districts. To practice in federal court, attorneys must be separately admitted to the bar of that specific district. You want someone who’s admitted in the Western and Northern Districts of Oklahoma and who practices there regularly. Local knowledge matters—knowing which judges are more lenient, which prosecutors are willing to negotiate.

Track record in pre-indictment intervention. Since the most valuable time to hire counsel is before charges are filed, you want an attorney who’s successfully resolved federal cases at the pre-indictment stage. Ask specifically: How many cases have you resolved without indictment?

What to Do Right Now

If you’ve received an SBA repayment letter, if you’ve been contacted by federal investigators, or if you’re simply worried that your 2020 PPP loan application might draw scrutiny, you need to act immediately. The options available to you today won’t be available next month.

Here’s what you should do in the next 24 hours:

Stop communicating with the government. If investigators have contacted you, do not respond to emails, do not return phone calls, do not agree to meetings. You are not required to speak with them.

Don’t alter, destroy, or create documents. Whatever documents you have related to your PPP loan—applications, bank statements, payroll records—preserve them exactly as they are. Don’t delete anything. Don’t modify anything.

Gather your documentation. Collect everything related to your PPP loan: the application you submitted, approval notices, loan documents, records of how you spent the funds, correspondence with your bank. You’ll need this for your attorney.

Schedule a confidential consultation. Contact a federal criminal defense attorney who handles PPP fraud cases in Oklahoma. Most attorneys offer free initial consultations, and these consultations are confidential. Come prepared with your timeline (when you applied, when you received funds, when you were contacted) and your basic understanding of what concerns the government has raised.

Be honest with your attorney. Attorney-client privilege means your lawyer cannot disclose what you tell them. But your lawyer can’t help you if they don’t know the truth. If you fabricated payroll records, say so. Your attorney needs to understand the worst-case scenario to plan an effective defense.

The attorneys at our firm have defended dozens of PPP fraud cases in Oklahoma’s federal courts. We’ve resolved cases at every stage—pre-indictment declinations, misdemeanor pleas, favorable sentencing outcomes, trial acquittals. We know the prosecutors in the Western and Northern Districts. We practice regularly in the Robert S. Kerr Courthouse in Oklahoma City and the Tulsa Federal Building.

If your facing a PPP fraud investigation or charges, the worst thing you can do is wait. Call us today for a confidential consultation. We’ll review your situation, explain your options, and give you an honest assessment of what your facing and how we can help. Whether your in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Edmond, Broken Arrow, or anywhere else in Oklahoma, we’re available 24/7.

This is your life, your freedom, your family’s future. Don’t face the federal government alone.