Jacob Carter Personally Received Over $1.7 Million in Kickbacks for Obtaining U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loans for Over 1,000 Applicants
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Mount Vernon native Jacob Carter, who led a scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) of more than $7.6 million, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román to 11 years in prison. CARTER and co-defendants Quadri Salahuddin and Anwar Salahuddin were convicted at trial on February 9, 2024, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Jacob Carter took advantage of a taxpayer-funded program intended to help small businesses in desperate need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some small businesses that were eligible for and deserving of this money did not get it because funds ran out. Carter used his ill-gotten gains for far more selfish pursuits, including expensive jewelry and a Lamborghini. Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners at the FBI and the career prosecutors of this Office, Carter has now received just punishment.”
According to the Indictment, public filings, public court proceedings and filings, and the evidence presented at trial and in connection with sentencing:
The SBA is a federal executive branch agency that administers assistance to American small businesses. This assistance includes making direct loans to applicants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress expanded SBA’s EIDL Program to provide small businesses with low-interest loans of up to $2 million before in or about May 2020 and up to $150,000 beginning in or about May 2020, to provide vital economic support to help overcome the loss of revenue small businesses are experiencing due to COVID-19. Applicants seeking a loan under the EIDL program were also now permitted to request and receive an advance of approximately $1,000 per employee for an amount up to $10,000, which the SBA has generally provided while the loan application was pending.
From March through July 2020, CARTER and co-defendants Quadri Salahuddin, Anwar Salahuddin, and Crystal Ransom, used the identities of more than 1,000 other individuals (the “Applicants”) to submit more than 1,000 online applications to the SBA, seeking over $10 million of funds through the SBA’s EIDL Program (the “EIDL Applications”). In connection with the EIDL Applications, CARTER, Quadri Salahuddin, Anwar Salahuddin, and Ransom falsely represented to the SBA that the Applicants were the owners of businesses with 10 or more employees. However, that was a lie – the individuals did not own businesses or employ people. Based on the fraudulent EIDL Applications, the SBA made advance payments of more than $7.6 million to the Applicants, who then kicked back a portion of the advance payments to CARTER, Quadri Salahuddin, Anwar Salahuddin, and Ransom. After the defendants had collected millions of dollars in kickback payments, CARTER took photographs of his stacks of cash, purchased expensive jewelry, and leased a Lamborghini.
In addition to the prison term, CARTER, 39, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. CARTER was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,737,000 to the SBA and forfeiture in the amount of $1,720,950.
Ransom pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced on April 24, 2024, to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release with the first six months under home confinement. The Court also ordered that Ransom pay restitution in the amount of $7,577,000 to the SBA and forfeiture in the amount of $99,000. Quadri Salahuddin and Anwar Salahuddin are scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, 2025.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Coffman, Courtney L. Heavey, and Jared D. Hoffman are in charge of the prosecution.
