A metro Detroit tax preparer and certified public accountant pleaded guilty this week to orchestrating a scheme that siphoned roughly $2.3 million from a federal pandemic relief program meant to keep small businesses afloat. Jawan Simpson, 37, filed 111 Paycheck Protection Program applications loaded with false information between January and July 2021, fabricating tax returns and other documents to help family members, friends and tax-preparation clients qualify for loans they should not have received.
A Fee for Fraud
According to FOX 2 Detroit, Simpson promised the people he prepared taxes for that he could get them qualified for the loans in exchange for a fee of $2,000 to $3,000. Some of those clients were Amtrak employees, the station reported. Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, and per The Detroit News, Simpson was arraigned on the fraud charges in November 2025. That report, written by Charles E. Ramirez, identifies Simpson as a Farmington Hills man, while FOX 2 Detroit's account describes him as an Ann Arbor tax preparer — a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve.
Fake Documents, Real Money
Simpson created fake documents, including bogus tax returns, to submit alongside the loan applications, the station's report states. Those fabricated filings helped drive the scheme's total losses to about $2.3 million for the federal government, per the same account. The Paycheck Protection Program launched in March 2020 to provide emergency relief to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the U.S. Small Business Administration forgiving loans when recipients met eligibility and spending requirements.
Federal officials framed the guilty plea as accountability for abusing a program built for crisis relief. Jerome Gorgon said Simpson abused his tax preparer role to defraud the American people of more than $2 million. Jennifer Runyan said exploiting a federal relief program during a national crisis for personal financial gain is a serious betrayal of the public trust, adding that Simpson's guilty plea represents an important step toward accountability.
Sentencing Still Pending
No sentencing date has been scheduled in U.S. District Court in Detroit. Samuel Bennett is listed as Simpson's attorney in the case.
Simpson's case is one piece of a much larger federal crackdown on pandemic-era loan fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice has described a stretch of enforcement activity from June 12 to August 31 involving more than 160 defendants and roughly $245 million in intended losses tied to COVID relief fraud nationwide. In a separate case, a York, Pennsylvania, tax preparer was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a bank-fraud scheme built around fraudulent PPP applications and was ordered to pay more than $341,000 in restitution, according to the Department of Justice.
