Latest news with #AndrewBirge
CBS News
28-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Battle Creek business agrees to civil settlement in PPP loan dispute
A Battle Creek manufacturer has agreed to pay over $2.2 million in civil fines to resolve allegations involving the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loan program. Andrew Birge, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, made the announcement this week regarding the case of Rosler Metal Finishing USA LLC, also known as Rosler USA. The allegation involved falsely obtaining a second loan through the PPP program when the company was not eligible for those additional funds. The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act against Rosler USA. No determination of liability was issued in the case. "The Paycheck Protection Program was intended only for those who met the eligibility criteria," Birge said in his prepared statement. The PPP was an emergency loan program created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020 and expanded by the later American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The intent was to help eligible businesses cover payroll costs and other specified expenses amid the economic disruptions of the time. The Small Business Administration guaranteed PPP loans, which included a forgiveness clause under certain conditions. More specifically, the "second-draw" loan criteria was limited to a company and its affiliates with a total of no more than 300 employees. That's the circumstances under which Rosler USA faced scrutiny, as it applied for a second-draw PPP loan in January 2021 and received the $1,265.035, according to the press release. The SBA later forgave the loan. But the United States later claimed Rosler USA was ineligible for the second loan because the company and its affiliates had over 300 employees; furthermore, that it falsely certified in its PPP loan application that it had fewer than 300 employees and omitted that it had shared ownership with other businesses. "The settlement in this matter reflects SBA's commitment to identifying and pursuing those who perpetrated fraud on the Paycheck Protection Program. Such fraud unconscionably undermines critical pandemic relief, and SBA continues its enhanced efforts to uncover such misconduct and recover those damages," Wendell Davis, General Counsel at the U.S. Small Business Administration said in the press release.
CBS News
28-02-2025
- CBS News
South Carolina man convicted in attempted online extortion case in Michigan
A South Carolina man was convicted by a federal jury in Michigan in a case involving someone pretending online to be a Grand Rapids teenager -- when he was actually a man serving time in state prison. The victim in the case died by suicide as the conversations escalated, according to a press release from Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge. The sentencing date has not yet been set for Glenn Daeward Boyd, 36, of Kershaw, South Carolina, who now has convictions on attempted extortion, stalking and five counts of wire fraud, the district attorney's office said. The stalking charge has a penalty of up to five years in prison; each of the other charges has penalties of up to 20 years in prison. "Perpetrators like Mr. Boyd who attempt to extort people online using sexual exploitation will be held accountable, and cannot hide behind their cell phones and computers," Birge said in his written statement on the case. According to evidence provided during the two-day jury trial in Kalamazoo, Boyd presented himself as an 18-year-old female from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the "Plenty of Fish" dating app. He made contact with another app member in August 2023, claiming at times to be a 15-year-old girl and then claiming to be the girl's grandparents. This activity happened while Boyd was in prison in South Carolina for unrelated criminal convictions. The conversations with the victim included threats to report him to family as a pedophile; including a social media post that said, "He is a pedophile I have all the evidence if anyone wants to see it." The day of that threat, the victim reported the extortion and scheme to police. The victim then died by suicide, the district attorney's office said. "Glenn Boyd's conviction sends a clear and powerful message: individuals who engage in online exploitation and financial crimes will be held fully accountable under the law," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "This case involved a financially driven sextortionist who specifically targeted and manipulated the victim for personal gain." Numerous law enforcement agencies and offices worked on this investigation, including the Wyoming (Michigan) Police Department, South Carolina Department of Corrections-Office of Inspector General, South Carolina Department of Corrections, Newaygo County Sheriff's Office, Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, FBI Charlotte, FBI Columbia, and FBI Omaha. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Constance R. Turnbull and Jonathan Roth were the assigned prosecutors. If you or someone you know is a victim of sextortion, authorities encourage making contact with local law enforcement or reach out to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip online at The FBI provides the following tips on how people can protect themselves from online sextortion schemes: Be selective about what you share online. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you. Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers. Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. In some cases, predators have taken over the social media accounts of their victims. Be willing to ask for help. If you are getting messages or requests online that don't seem right, block the sender, report the behavior to the site administrator, or go to an adult.
CBS News
26-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Michigan contractor sentenced for $1.6 million investment scam
A Michigan man has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for a wire fraud scheme that resulted in more than $1.6 million in losses to 15 known victims. "We are committed to combatting financial fraud and white-collar crime and would like to thank the victims who came forward to report it," Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge said in Tuesday's press release. Matthew Mencarelli, 39, of Belmont, who owned a contracting business called Matthew's Woodworking LLC, began selling fictitious investments in 2018 when his business was suffering from financial difficulties, the district attorney's office said. He began to approach friends and acquaintances, offering investments in non-existent fiber optic cable and other infrastructure projects that he said he had arranged contracts with. The entire matter was a Ponzi-style scheme. "In truth, there were no such contracts and Mencarelli used the money instead to finance his lifestyle, pouring at least $400,000 into a custom-built home," the press release said. "He also used payments from newer investors to pay off older investors. When it came time to pay investors back, he lied, bullied, and threatened them and manufactured false documents to maintain the charade." The Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted by Grand Rapids Police Department, investigated the case; which was then prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler. "Fraudulent investment schemes will not be tolerated in Michigan," Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in the press release. "The FBI remains committed to investigating and deterring financial fraud that harms our community."
