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October 20, 2023

Man Sentenced for His Role in Economic Injury Disaster Loan Fraud

On September 26, 2023, in the District of Idaho, Valentin Lapatskiy was sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release after he pled guilty to wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $327,594.34 and a special assessment of $100.

On or about July 17, 2020, Lapatskiy applied for and obtained an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for Valdi Homes Inc. On July 28, 2020, Lapatskiy submitted an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The application falsely claimed that Valdi Homes Inc. opened on November 25, 2017. The application also falsely claimed Valdi Homes Inc. had employees and revenues for 2019. Based on the fraudulent information provided in the application, SBA approved the requested EIDL for $150,000. In April 2021, Lapatskiy attempted to get additional EIDL funds, but the loan was not approved.  

In addition, on June 26, 2020, Lapatskiy submitted an EIDL application under his wife’s name for a purported limousine company. The application falsely claimed the business opened in February 2018, and had employees. The application also falsely claimed business revenues for 2019. The SBA approved the requested EIDL and disbursed $149,900 to a bank account jointly owned by Lapatskiy and his wife.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents:  D. Idaho, Sentencing filed Sept. 26, 2023; D. Idaho, Indict., filed Dec. 26, 2022; and D. Idaho, Plea Agr., filed Apr. 20, 2023.