In a Brooklyn federal courtroom on Wednesday, former NYPD Detective John Bolden admitted he was part of a plan to squeeze cash out of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a COVID-era loan scheme that prosecutors say leaned on fake tax records and bogus applications. According to investigators, the operation helped more than 65 people tap into PPP funds they were never entitled to.
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York said the plea was entered before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon and confirmed that Bolden admitted to a wire-fraud conspiracy charge. The office noted that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew D. Grubin and Eric Silverberg are prosecuting the case, and that each defendant faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted. The announcement was also shared on the office’s official account on X, U.S. Attorney EDNY on X.
Federal prosecutors first unsealed charges in August 2024, and local coverage at the time sketched out how detectives and associates allegedly ran the scheme through a tax-preparation franchise. As reported by the Long Island Press, Bolden, who also did tax-preparation work, was accused of helping to create phony Internal Revenue Service Schedule C forms and guiding clients into sham loan applications.
How prosecutors say the scam worked
According to court filings, the scheme ran from the spring of 2020 through late 2022 and leaned on fabricated payroll and business records to convince lenders and the Small Business Administration that ineligible borrowers had real payroll expenses. The Brooklyn Eagle has reported that some PPP applications listed completely made-up companies with plausible-sounding names, backed up by fake tax documents pushed through online lender portals.
Legal next steps
The criminal case is docketed as E.D.N.Y. No. 24-CR-361 (DG). According to the Eastern District press release, prosecutors intend to pursue convictions and what they describe as appropriate sentences as the case moves forward. The listed co-defendants on the original complaint are Anthony Carreira, Christian McKenzie and Jacqueline Johnson. Investigators from the FBI, the SBA Office of Inspector General and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau are credited with assisting in the probe. Sentencing dates for Bolden and the others have not yet been set.
Why prosecutors keep pursuing PPP fraud
Pandemic-era loan programs remain a high priority for federal enforcement because of the sheer volume of money that went out the door and the range of fraud schemes uncovered, from solo preparers to larger, coordinated networks. The SBA Office of Inspector General and the Justice Department continue to highlight prosecutions and recoveries tied to COVID relief-program abuse, a pattern that helps explain why a case like Bolden’s is still drawing close attention years after the first PPP checks were cut.
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