Former Cherry Hills Village resident, hemp business owner facing federal charges
DENVER (KDVR) — A former resident of Cherry Hills Village has been charged with one count of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with millions of dollars that federal officials say were bilked from disaster funds.
Joseph Ronald Trenkle, 54, currently of Dorado, Puerto Rico, is accused of applying for and receiving $1.85 million in COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration and another almost $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds from a Small Business Administration-approved lender.
Billions in pandemic fraud: DOJ looking to recover every penny of COVID relief fraud
According to Colorado Secretary of State business records, Trenkle is the owner of All American Hemp Co., a commercial operation 'specializing in seed production and replication' of marijuana plants.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado said the funds were received between April 30, 2020, and Feb. 25, 2022, after Trenkle first received a disaster loan in March 2020. The prosecutors say Trenkle made two requests to increase the amount of the loan, as well as falsely represented items in the request.
The prosecutors further allege that Trenkle submitted two fraudulent loan applications and submitted fraudulent applications to be forgiven on each of the loans.
Trenkle appeared in court on May 22 in Denver.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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