HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dommonick T. Chatman, age 50, of York, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release by Senior United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion for one count of bank fraud in connection with numerous fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications that were filed, with his knowledge and approval, through his business, The Chatman Group, LLC. Judge Mannion also ordered Chatman to pay $341,438.82 in restitution to the U.S. Government. According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Chatman previously pleaded guilty and admitted that over the course of several months in 2021, he either participated in preparing, or approved of another employee’s preparation of, fraudulent PPP loan applications for almost twenty different individuals. The total amount of funds requested in connection with such loans exceeded $400,000, and the amount disbursed in response to such applications was approximately $341,438.82. To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying small business was required to apply for it and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and expenses. In addition, businesses generally had to provide supporting documentation.

Numerous applications filed through Chatman’s business were fraudulent because the applicants either did not have businesses that were in existence as of February 15, 2020, as required by the PPP rules, or did not have the income required to get a PPP loan for the amounts that they were requesting in their respective applications. Chatman admitted that he had prepared tax returns for a number of these applicants, as they were existing clients of The Chatman Group whom he knew personally. Chatman therefore knew that these clients’ applications were fraudulent. Chatman also received approximately 5% of each individual loan, or about $1,000, for each loan application that his company filed. When an employee assisted in the processing of these applications, Chatman shared the proceeds with this employee. Chatman also obstructed the government’s investigation by disposing of a handwritten list of the names of clients who had received PPP loan applications through his company. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division's prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at Justice.gov/OPA/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.

The case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia’s Capital Area Resident Agency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ravi Romel Sharma and K. Wesley Mishoe prosecuted the case. # # #