The Brief
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A San Bernardino County man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly obtaining over $800,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds.
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The suspect, Justin Konikow, allegedly concealed a prior federal mail fraud conviction on his loan application.
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Konikow is charged with wire fraud and faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
LOS ANGELES – A San Bernardino County man accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $800,000 in COVID-19 relief funds was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The backstory
According to court documents, Justin Konikow, 38, of Ontario, applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan back in April 2020 for his business, “Trendsetters.”
In the application, Konikow allegedly did not disclose that neither he nor the company had been convicted of a crime. Koniko had been convicted of mail fraud in January 2020 for a scheme to defraud the U.S. and California out of more than $250,000 by filing false unemployment and disability claims, officials said. For that crime, Konikow was sentenced to 35 months in prison, a term he began serving in February 2022.
What we know
The affidavit states that between 2021 and 2022, Konikow submitted three modifications to the EIDL to increase the total money he was receiving. Konikow allegedly certified that each modification on the original application was true and complete even though he allegedly did not disclose he had been convicted of a federal crime.
Konikow’s loan and modifications – worth about $805,000 – were approved by the Small Business Administration and wired into his bank account, court documents stated.
Federal officials said Konikow allegedly used the funds to pay off credit card debt, car payments, and to transfer about $47,000 to a stock trading account.
What’s next
Konikow is charged with wire fraud and could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
What you can do
To report information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 relief, call the DOJ’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5271. You can also file a complaint online.
The Source
The information in this article is based on a federal criminal complaint and a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Court documents and an affidavit filed with the complaint provide details on the alleged fraudulent activities, including the timeline of loan applications and the defendant’s prior conviction.
