A Plymouth man with a knack for deceit has found himself in hot water after trying to swindle the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Joseph Kerrissey III, 46, was hauled up on wire fraud charges for cooking up bogus loan applications for businesses he claims to run, authorities said.
Looking to get a slice of the federal relief pie, Kerrissey is accused to have attempted to unjustly enrich himself through three fraudulent loan applications—stating untruths about his criminal past and fabricating tax forms, according to the Department of Justice.
Released after appearing in front of U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Kelley, Kerrissey could now face the music with a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars, three years of supervised freedom, and a fine of $250,000. The heat is on as Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, along with top brass from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the IRS Criminal Investigation, disclosed the charges.
Levy's crackdown is all part of a wider battle against pandemic profiteering, with a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established by the Attorney General in May 2021 to fiercely combat such fraudulent schemes. The Task Force's dragnet has been widened to proactively prevent this kind of fraud, drawing upon resources and expertise across the government landscape.
While Kerrissey's fate hangs in the balance pending trial, the public has been nudged to report any suspected COVID-19 related scams to the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud. Despite the serious allegations, it must be noted that Kerrissey remains innocent unless proven otherwise in a court of law.
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