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What Arthur Spitzer Did When the SBA Opened the COVID EIDL Window
Arthur Spitzer pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud and $1.8M in EIDL fraud. Why COVID relief was the easiest mark a paper fraudster ever found.
Aug 31


Dallas Loan Broker Fled the U.S. for Nearly Eight Years. Now She's Going to Federal Prison
Dallas loan broker Kwanghee Anh fled the U.S. for years after a $29M bank fraud scheme. She was caught in South Korea and sentenced to 58 months.
Aug 26


Georgia Businessman Accused of Using Fake $22M Brokerage Statement to Secure $24M Loan
A Georgia businessman faces bank and wire fraud charges after prosecutors say he used fabricated brokerage statements and forged documents to obtain $24 million in financing.
Aug 20


Gotti Name Can’t Stop the Clock: Grandson Enters Prison for $1.1M COVID Fraud
Carmine Agnello, grandson of mob boss John Gotti, has begun his 15-month prison term for $1.1M in COVID relief fraud after a judge denied further kidney transplant delays.
Aug 17


First Brands Pushes Court to Approve Litigation-Focused Bankruptcy Plan
First Brands is asking a bankruptcy court to approve a creditor settlement built around litigation recoveries as the Justice Department objects.
Aug 12


Michigan Man Sentenced in PPP and COVID Rental Assistance Fraud Case
A Michigan man was sentenced to prison for PPP loan fraud and COVID rental assistance fraud, highlighting ongoing pandemic relief fraud enforcement.
Jun 1


Elaine Angene Escoe Lands on FBI’s Most Wanted List Over Alleged COVID Fraud Scheme
Palm Beach native Elaine Angene Escoe is on the run for a massive $34 million pandemic relief fraud scheme, making FBI history in the process.
May 26


The Gotti Name Got Him In Every Room. This Time, It May Have Helped Him Out of One.
John Gotti's grandson stole $1.1M in COVID relief, funneled $420K into crypto, and got 15 months in prison. Prosecutors wanted three years. Here's why that matters.
Apr 24


No One Is Above the Law: Two Recent Fraud Cases That Prove Accountability Still Matters
From a $40 million Houston bank fraud scheme to a South Florida deputy's PPP loan scam, two new cases show how financial fraud is being prosecuted.
Feb 23


The Growing Fraud Crisis: Why Businesses Can’t Afford to Fall Behind
At MoneyThumb, we see this firsthand. Fraudsters are no longer just exploiting weak passwords or outdated software; they’re mimicking entire financial identities.
Nov 5, 2025


The $2.3 Billion Vanishing Act: First Brands and the Factoring Fraud That Shocked Wall Street
When First Brands Group filed for bankruptcy on September 28, 2025, Wall Street expected a messy restructuring. What they got instead was a financial crime thriller involving $2.3 billion in factoring deals that simply vanished, and a DOJ investigation into one of the most brazen alleged frauds in recent memory.
Oct 13, 2025


Monday Round-Up: Loan Fraud Charges, eBay’s Open Banking, CFPB Change
“Open Banking helps to make the eBay Seller Capital application process easier, faster and more holistic for small businesses, so we can help more eBay sellers start and grow their businesses,”
Aug 18, 2025


Business Loan Broker Abraham Park Sentenced for EIDL Fraud
In one of the more notable COVID-relief fraud cases to hit the lending industry, a California business loan broker has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
Aug 10, 2025


The $14 Million Fraud: How Darren Carlyle Sadler Turned Pandemic Relief Into Personal Luxury
In the summer of 2020, while small businesses across America struggled to survive the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Darren Carlyle Sadler was living a very different reality. The 38-year-old Costa Mesa businessman had discovered what he believed was the perfect opportunity hidden within the chaos of the federal government's rushed response to the crisis.
Jul 5, 2025


Ex-TV Anchor Stephanie Hockridge Convicted in Multimillion-Dollar PPP Fraud Scheme
Stephanie Hockridge and her husband, Nathan Reis, co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic panic. The platform was positioned as a rapid-response solution for distributing PPP funds to small businesses locked out of traditional banking channels. But according to federal prosecutors, Blueacorn became a machine of fraud, processing over $12.5 billion in loans while implementing virtually no guardrails to prevent abuse.
Jun 23, 2025


PPP Fraud Enforcement Update: Recent Convictions Signal Ongoing Federal Crackdown
Federal prosecutors continue their aggressive pursuit of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud, with two recent high-profile convictions demonstrating that the Department of Justice remains committed to holding fraudsters accountable nearly five years after the pandemic began.
Jun 11, 2025
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