On November 4, 2022, in the District of Massachusetts, Adley Bernadin was sentenced for one count of wire fraud for his role in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud. 

According to the court documents, Bernadin devised a scheme to obtain money by means of false and fraudulent representations. In April 2020, Bernadin obtained an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for a home health care company. In May 2020, Bernadin submitted a fraudulent application on behalf of the purported company for a PPP loan of over $400,000 using the newly obtained EIN. In the application, Bernadin misrepresented information about the purported company’s employees and payroll expenses and falsified a tax form in an effort to qualify the business for the PPP loan. Bernadin falsely represented that his company was in operation as of February 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes using the EIN that he had not obtained until April 2020. After receiving the PPP funds, Bernadin allegedly used the money to make home mortgage payments and write checks to individuals with whom he is believed to have a personal relationship.

Bernadin was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $229,704.12 in restitution.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D. Mass., Judg., Filed November 10, 2022; D. Mass., Plea Agr., Filed May 16, 2022; D. Mass., Information, Filed May 16, 2022; D. Mass. Criminal Complaint, Filed March 16, 2022; and DOJ Press Release dated March 17, 2022.