A Springfield Gardens man was arrested by federal agents on Thursday morning for allegedly stealing more than $1.1 million in a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.
Terry Dor, 36, of 145th Road, was arraigned hours later in Brooklyn federal court on an eight-count indictment charging him with wire fraud, theft of public funds and money laundering in connection with a scheme to steal funds from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program that provided emergency funding to distressed businesses during the pandemic.
“As alleged, the defendant submitted applications filled with fabricated information in order to steal more than $1 million dollars in government funds intended to help hard-hit small businesses and their employees survive the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic,” U. S. Attorney Breon Peace said.
According to the indictment, Dor applied for EIDL loans in 2020 and 2021, claiming that he operated a Brooklyn-based consulting business called Terry Dor Professional Consultants, LLC (TDPC) which according to the defendant, had more than $575,000 in revenue and $535,000 in expenses during calendar year 2019. In reality, TDPC was a sham business with no legitimate revenue or expenses.
Based on Dor’s false claims, the U.S. Small Business Administration, which administered the EIDL program, deposited approximately $1,151,000 in funds to a bank account controlled by Dor via three installments. Dor proceeded to wire the EIDL proceeds to other accounts he controlled and used the proceeds to fund personal and non-TDPC expenses.
“The defendant then laundered and used the stolen funds to buy jewelry and for personal securities trading, Peace said.
For example, on Dec. 13, 2021, Dor used $125,000 of the EIDL proceeds to make a purchase at a premium jewelry vendor in New York City, according to the indictment.
“Today’s indictment shows that this office remains committed to identifying and prosecuting those who stole pandemic relief funds,” Peace said.
Dor was arraigned before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom who released him on $50,000 bond. If convicted, Dor faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“Dor is an alleged opportunist who took advantage of a program meant to help business owners who suffered loss with the pandemic,” Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas Fattorusso said. “He allegedly used a sham business to steal more than a million dollars from the EIDL program, decreasing the amount of available funds for those in need.”
