Federal jury convicts Ocala man for COVID-19 relief fraud

FLORIDA — A federal jury has convicted an Ocala man on six counts of wire fraud related to COVID-19 relief fraud.

Henry Troy Wade, 47, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count, with sentencing scheduled for January 2025. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced the verdict following Wade’s trial.

According to evidence presented during the trial, Mr Wade applied for 11 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) between April 2020 and March 2021, falsely claiming ownership of five businesses, including a restaurant, a farm, a child daycare, and two heating and air conditioning companies.

Five applications were approved, giving Wade $524,400 through four loans and two grants.

However, testimony revealed that Mr Wade had misrepresented key details on his EIDL applications. He did not possess the necessary business licenses, never paid employment taxes, and had not registered the businesses with the IRS or the Florida Department of Revenue.

Additionally, Mr Wade is said to have inflated his reported business income by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The United States Secret Service investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Nowalk.