Former USAID Employee Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for More Than $176,000 in CARES Act Fraud
A former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee has been sentenced to federal prison for a scheme that illegally obtained more than $176,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced. Simeon Bakare, 56, of Waldorf, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang to six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, including two months of home detention, on a wire fraud charge. Judge Chuang also ordered Bakare to forfeit $176,000 and to pay $176,000 in restitution.
Bakare pleaded guilty on June 3, 2026, to wire fraud in connection with the scheme. According to his guilty plea, beginning in April 2020 and continuing until November 2021, Bakare knowingly engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). He admitted that he submitted, or caused the submission of, multiple fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications, and caused PPP and EIDL benefits to be deposited into bank accounts he controlled.
In furthering the scheme, Bakare used fabricated documents in support of the applications, including fraudulent IRS Schedule C forms and false attestations regarding the existence of sole proprietorships. He submitted five false loan applications to obtain PPP and EIDL benefits, along with loan forgiveness.
None of the businesses Bakare listed on the applications had significant employees, office space, revenues, costs of goods sold, or business operations. He admitted that he used the proceeds for improper personal purposes, such as car and housing payments, along with grocery costs.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the sentence with Acting Special Agent in Charge Eduardo Santos of the USAID Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Wenner and Tanya Kapoor prosecuted the case. The Justice Department said the prosecution is part of the Trump Administration's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部总部大楼（GSM联邦固定图库）。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (GSM federal asset library).
