Georgia Man Sentenced to 33 Months for $1.25 Million Pandemic Relief and Auto Loan Fraud, Ordered to Pay $1.24 Million
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced on November 5 that Hugh A. Brown, Jr., of Fayetteville, in Fayette County, Georgia, was sentenced to federal prison that day for fraudulently obtaining roughly $1.25 million in pandemic relief and auto loans.
"This defendant shamelessly fleeced federal taxpayers and financial institutions over half a decade through various loan fraud schemes," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "My office will continue to prosecute and seek prison time for anyone who abuses government relief programs."
According to the U.S. Attorney, the indictment, and other information presented in court, in 2020 Brown applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan by submitting false payroll information and fake IRS tax forms to a federally insured bank, and received a $162,500 PPP loan as a result.
In 2022, Brown fraudulently claimed Employee Retention Credits (ERCs), a refundable tax credit designed to encourage employers to continue paying employees during COVID-19, on behalf of his company. After filing fraudulent tax returns, he received seven United States Treasury checks totaling $644,452.98 in ERCs and other credits. In addition, from at least February 2022 through February 2025, Brown obtained fraudulent bank and credit union loans worth nearly $450,000 by submitting fake documents, misrepresenting employment and income information, and providing fictitious vehicle details as loan collateral.
U.S. District Judge Victoria M. Calvert sentenced Brown, 35, to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $1,244,243.81 in restitution to the Small Business Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and financial institutions. Brown pleaded guilty on June 3, 2026, to bank fraud conspiracy and bank fraud.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with valuable assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于佐治亚州 Atlanta 的 Richard B. Russell 联邦大楼与法院，联邦法院佐治亚北区所在地。DukeArcTerex 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Richard B. Russell Federal Building and Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. By DukeArcTerex, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
