Luzerne County Man Sentenced To 24 Months’ Imprisonment For Committing $350,000 In Covid-19 Pandemic Fraud

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Daniel Wasielewski, age 59, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on December 21, 2023, by United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion to 24 months of imprisonment, for committing pandemic fraud.  Wasielewski also was sentenced to serve a three-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Wasielewski pleaded guilty to filing and assisting others in filing fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds, including under the Payment Protection Program (PPP), for Economic Injury and Disaster Loans (EIDLs), and for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.  The PPP and EIDL applications submitted by Wasielewski and his coconspirators were filed on behalf of corporate entities that did not, in fact, have actual business operations, and that bore false revenues and other business information.  The applications also included forged IRS tax documents and stolen personal information.

Wasielewski received approximately $350,000 in PPP, EIDL, PUA, and other fraudulently-obtained funds, for himself and others.  Instead of using the funds on business expenses, Wasielewski and others used them to purchase cryptocurrency and on other personal expenses.  Banking and law enforcement officials successfully froze and recovered approximately $150,000 of the stolen funds, and Wasielewski was ordered to pay restitution to the remaining victims.

The PPP and EIDL programs, both funded by the March 2020 CARES Act, were designed to help small businesses facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.  PPP funds were offered in forgivable loans, provided that certain criteria are met, including use of the funds for employee payroll, mortgage interest, lease, and utilities expenses.  EIDL funds are offered in low-interest rate loans, designated for specific business expenses, such as fixed debts, payroll, and business obligation.  The PUA program was created by the CARES Act, as part of the United States government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public’s health and economic well-being.  The PUA program was designed to provide unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended unemployment benefits.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.

# # #