Hamilton County Man Indicted For COVID Relief Fraud Involving Fraudulently Obtained Paycheck Protection Program Loans

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Desmond Dondre Williams (34, Jasper) with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Williams faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each count and payment of restitution to the United States government.   

According to the indictment, Williams submitted two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. Both PPP loan applications falsely claimed that Williams operated as the “Personal Chef” for his business, “Tastebudz.” Throughout the loan applications, Williams made multiple false statements regarding his purported gross income and expenses associated with operating Tastebudz. In support of his two PPP loan applications, Williams submitted a false IRS Form 1040 “Profit or Loss From Business” for Tastebudz. It contained false statements about operating expenses for his purported business. In truth, Tastebudz did not exist. In reliance on the false statements in his two PPP loan applications, the Small Business Administration funded two PPP loans for Tastebudz, totaling $39,327.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.