FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–A Florida man has pleaded guilty to using fake identities in a scheme to steal $24 million in a variety of frauds, including against the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), by using shell companies, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said Hasan Hakim Brown, 45, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale along with others to manufacturing “synthetic identifies” by using personal and financial information of real people mixed with fake information to open fraudulent bank and credit card accounts and commit other fraud.
“Years before the pandemic, Brown and his co-conspirators used complex computer data storage and virtualization machines to manufacture synthetic identities, automatically open bank accounts and shell companies, and monitor bank activity tied to the synthetic (as well as stolen) identities,” the Justice Department stated. “In 2017, they used the synthetic and stolen identities and associated bank accounts and shell companies to steal money from a bank in Texas.”
Sentencing in September
The Justice Department said in 2020, in conjunction with the coronavirus pandemic, Brown and his co-conspirators used their already-established synthetic identities and associated shell companies to allegedly apply for financial assistance fraudulently, receiving $24 million in PPP relief. The U.S. Attorney said the money was paid to companies registered to Brown and his co-conspirators as well as to companies registered to synthetic identities that Brown and his co-conspirators controlled.
Brown pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. Sentencing is set for Sept. 30.