A former Metropolitan Police Department officer is again under federal scrutiny, accused of siphoning $18,345 in Paycheck Protection Program relief while trying to land a job with the Seattle Police Department. Prosecutors say Roberto Adams pulled the cash through a one-person cleaning business, spent it on himself, and then had the loans flagged during a background check for the Seattle gig. The case now sits at the intersection of pandemic-relief fraud allegations, a multiagency criminal probe and a tangle of procedural rulings from the federal appeals court.
According to federal prosecutors, Adams applied for and received PPP loans on behalf of SuperKlean LLC even though the company had no employees and no reported income. One disbursement of $18,345 allegedly hit his account on Jan. 29, 2021, and investigators say he quickly burned through it on rent, gambling, travel, clothing and other personal expenses. They say a $12,110 payment toward rental arrears, along with other personal purchases, was traced straight back to the loan proceeds, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The legal path has been anything but straightforward. After a federal jury returned a mixed verdict in 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concluded the trial judge left out a required jury instruction and upheld the district court’s decision to order a new trial. The appeals court said that omission undercut the fairness of the original proceedings, according to the D.C. Circuit.
The same opinion notes that Adams applied to the Seattle Police Department in April 2021 and later told Seattle background screeners that "the purpose of the loan was to provide relief and assistance for [his] small business during the pandemic." That explanation surfaced during his background investigation, as laid out in the D.C. Circuit record.
How authorities say the PPP money was used
Prosecutors maintain the PPP funds never touched legitimate payroll or business operations. Instead, they say the money went out the door fast on casino gambling, airline tickets, hotel stays, restaurant tabs, clothing and sneakers, along with that large payment toward back rent. Those transactions are laid out in the charging documents and summarized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Where the case stands now
Local coverage this week reported a guilty finding and mentioned an October 23, 2026 sentencing date, but the case’s appellate detour means any schedule and potential retrial plans still need to be confirmed on the D.C. district court docket. As reported by WUSA9, prosecutors allege Adams defrauded taxpayers of more than $18,000. Court watchers should expect more filings before anything is final.
Why it matters
The case is a reminder that pandemic-relief enforcement has not stopped at massive fraud rings. Individual borrowers are still being hauled into court, and in this instance, the allegations intersect with police hiring and public trust. With both the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD Internal Affairs in the mix, the matter highlights the added scrutiny when suspected misuse of federal funds involves someone who wore a badge.
Legal details
Adams faces federal charges of wire fraud and expenditure-money-laundering tied to two PPP loans. Those counts carry significant statutory penalties, although any ultimate sentence will depend on how the remaining proceedings play out in the D.C. district court. For official word on future hearings or dates, the district court docket remains the place to watch.
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