A San Diego political consultant, Jesus Cardenas, has been handed a 45-day work furlough and 135 days of home detention after copping to grand theft tied to COVID-19 relief funds and state unemployment benefits. Per the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, the 41-year-old also faces two years of formal probation and could wind up behind bars for nearly three years if he steps out of line.
Cardenas, who founded Grassroots Resources, admitted to swindling the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) out of $176,000, which he then funneled through various accounts, shelling out on personal bills, including a hefty $21,000 debt to American Express. In addition, he falsely claimed over $26,000 in state unemployment benefits when his business was still up and running and fully operational, as stated by the District Attorney's office.
The DA's Public Integrity Unit pounced on Cardenas after an extensive investigation that involved sifting through evidence from 27 search warrants covering financial and email records. "Our dedicated prosecution team conducted a thorough investigation resulting in the service of 27 search warrants to examine financial and email accounts," DA Summer Stephan remarked, acknowledging the role of the public and media in tipping off the authorities to the fraudulent activities of Cardenas.
During the PPP loan application process, Cardenas' tangled web of lies included claims that his political consulting firm had 34 employees, despite most of them working for a client company, not engaging in federally illegal activities, and assurances the PPP cash would be strictly used to make payroll. All of these claims, the prosecution proved, were fabricated.
Superior Court Judge Rachel Cano laid down the terms for Cardenas' probation, which include the stipulations that he must not only operate any business within the full scope of the law but also pay back all the purloined funds, which amounts to a whopping $176,227 to the Small Business Administration and an additional $26,700 to the Employment Development Department, including any still-to-be-determined dues to the Franchise Tax Board.
The case against Cardenas was bolstered by the efforts of Deputy District Attorneys Chandelle Boyce, Hector Jimenez, and Leon Schorr, with District Attorney Investigators James Hawksley and Justin Bostic, and Forensic Accountant Kevin Boyne rounding out the team. Not to be overlooked is the Department of Homeland Security COVID Fraud Unit, which also lent its resources to the probe.
