A Detroit man has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for his involvement in a COVID-19 pandemic relief fraud scheme that netted overย $14 million from small businesses in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Marc Martin, 46, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on Wednesday, followed by three years of supervised release, for his fraud conspiracy conviction, according to acting US Attorney Troy Rivetti in Pittsburgh.
According to Rivetti, Martin was also forced to pay more than $659,000 in restitution.
Rivetti claimed that Martin and other accomplices stole the government Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of $14.5 million between March 2020 and August 2021, during the epidemic.
Martin was supported by Matthew Parker, a certified public accountant in Detroit, who “recruited hundreds of small businesses” in Pittsburgh and Detroit while falsifying PPP loan applications.
According to Rivetti, the Small Business Administration approved 226 applications, resulting in the “largest known PPP fraud” in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Martin referred $1.9 million in fraudulent loans to Parker, who received a sentence of 24 months in prison and four years on supervised release last month.
Parker was also forced to pay $14.5 million in reparations following his fraud conspiracy conviction.
