Florida men allegedly enrich themselves with millions in COVID-19 relief funds

MIAMI, Fla. – Two Florida men have been indicted for allegedly stealing millions in COVID-19 relief funds.

A federal magistrate judge in Fort Lauderdale has unsealed an indictment charging Carl Henry Charles, 43, of Miramar, and Patrick Charles, 41, of Lake Worth, for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans and advances from the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

According to the indictment, from March 2020 through December 2021, Carl Charles and his brother, Patrick Charles, submitted applications to the SBA for EIDL program loans seeking nearly $5 million for purported businesses that did not exist before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not have any revenue or other business activity.

As a result of the false and fraudulent applications, the SBA disbursed approximately $2.5 million in loan proceeds and advances to the defendants, who used the funds to enrich themselves and others, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO).

The indictment charges each defendant with multiple counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Carl Charles faces up to 80 years in prison, and Patrick Charles faces up to 60 years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Morini Jr. of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Southern Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Investigations Division’s Eastern Region, made the announcement.

FBI Miami, TIGTA, and SBA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Samad Pardesi and Ariel Glasner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-60072.