How a Charlotte businessman defrauded the government out of $1.2 million in COVID funds
A 46-year-old Charlotte business owner has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges after getting more than $1.2 million from COVID relief funds for himself and customers.
Glynn Hubbard Jr. sent fraudulent loan applications for Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan money to the U.S. Small Business Administration and lenders, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release late Monday. Hubbard pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court.
Dena King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the plea, along with Donald Eakins, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office.
A federal grand jury in Charlotte returned a criminal indictment in mid-January against Hubbard.
How the COVID fraud scheme worked
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the fraud scheme occurred between March 31, 2020, and Aug. 1, 2020, according to plea documents through Hubbard’s businesses, Borrow My Ride, Balanced Society Corporation, The Regins Corporation, and GGGAB, Inc.
Hubbard used false information in COVID-related loan applications and documents, and provided false financial information, fake employment data and fraudulent tax returns, according to the indictment.
Hubbard kept over $570,000 for himself and more than $660,000 went to his customers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Court records show he used personal referrals and social media to get business as a Covid relief consultant. He received more than $150,000 in improper loan preparer fees for consultant services, and asked his customers to pay in cash, through cashier’s checks or wire transfers to avoid fraud detection, according to federal officials.
Hubbard was released on bond after the plea hearing.
A sentencing date has not been set. He could face up to 20 years for the fraud charge and 10 years for money laundering, according to federal officials.
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established in May 2021 by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office to combat and prevent pandemic fraud with the assistance of government agencies.
