Mooresville man stole millions in COVID aid, duped investors, ordered to prison
A 53-year-old Mooresville man was sentenced to serve nearly four years in prison on Thursday for running a $6.1 million investment fraud scheme and fraudulently obtaining more than $2.6 million in COVID relief funds.
From 2018 to 2021, Steven Andiloro ran an investment fraud scheme and persuaded people to invest money in businesses that were both real and fake, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. He told victims that their money would be invested into his car service business and non-existent marijuana dispensary companies called Rock Skull and Broken Skull.
But Andiloro did not keep his promise and used money from his victims to pay for personal expenses and Ponzi-style payments to other investors, according to court records.
The money was spent on private planes to Mexico, luxury AirBnBs and other lavish expenditures for himself, his family and investors, according to court records.
And from April 2020 to March 2021, he also defrauded the government to get funds from the Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 was intended to help businesses going through economic hardship during the pandemic.
To get that money, he submitted false financial information like fake employment data, inflated revenues, costs and payroll expenses, according to court records. After getting the money, he used the money on his personal lifestyle and the investment scheme.
He used about $258,000 of the Professional Security PPP funds to purchase a vacation home in Boynton Beach, Florida, among other personal expenses, according to court records.
Andiloro pleaded guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud in November in a Charlotte federal court.
Along with a 45-month prison sentence, he was ordered to have three years of supervised release after serving his time, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The court also ordered him to pay $5.3 million in restitution to his fraud victims.
Andiloro remains released on bond and will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
COVID fraud in the Charlotte region
Andiloro’s sentencing comes on the same day of Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown being indicted on federal COVID loan fraud charges.
Brown and her two daughters were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of allegedly running a $124,000 COVID fraud scheme. The funds were allegedly used on personal expenses such as $15,000 on a personal birthday party for Brown, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In the Western District of North Carolina, which includes the Charlotte metro area, the total misuse of COVID funds is approaching $20 million, prosecutors say. More than 30 people have been prosecuted and convicted to date.
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 5:40 AM.
