A St. Louis man, Shahron Vaulx, has been slapped with a 27-month prison sentence after fraudulently securing over $629,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic, in a case that sheds light on the darker side of relief efforts. Vaulx, 41, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of wire fraud, was found to have submitted a series of bogus loan applications under the guise of different LLCs—Fortunnett Financial, SD Incorporation, SV Collections, and SD Marketing—complete with falsified tax documents and inflated payroll records, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Wednesday's sentencing by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark did not just conclude with prison time, Vaulx is now also on the hook for repaying the entire sum of $629,809 that he extracted from government coffers, money meant to cushion the blow of the pandemic for struggling businesses and families; instead, Vaulx chose to spend on personal retail purchases, bill payments, and even transferred funds to acquaintances, a sentencing memo obtained by the Department of Justice indicated.
The Secret Service, which took the lead in investigating this fraudulent scheme, heralded the case as a testament to its dedication to chase down those who ply tricks to illegitimately tap federal aid programs meant for the pandemic, stated Special Agent in Charge Travis Gibson of the St. Louis Field Office in a nod to the relentless efforts to bring justice, the Department of Justice reports.
In the sentencing memo, prosecutors laid bare a narrative of greed, Vaulx, who despite having a substantial income of about $25,000 per month, saw fit to dip his hands into the public till—filing for loan forgiveness under the pretense that the stolen funds were put to legitimate business use; this comes from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gwen Carroll and Stephen Casey, who led the prosecution, echoed by the sentiments of the Department of Justice.
