Former Florida prison officer pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud

FLORIDA – A former state corrections officer has pleaded guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud.

Alfredo Hudson, 36, of Miami, a former correctional officer with the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC), has pled guilty to wire fraud in connection with two fraudulent loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO).

According to the USAO, on June 12, 2020, Hudson, who was employed as a full-time state corrections officer, submitted a false and fraudulent PPP loan application claiming to be a self-employed individual operating a recreation business under the name “Alfredo Enterprise.” Reportedly, the PPP loan application falsely represented Alfredo Enterprise’s monthly payroll and included a false and fraudulent IRS Form 1040, Schedule C for the tax year 2019.

As a result of the false and fraudulent application, Hudson obtained a $10,104 PPP loan from a Georgia-based lender, said the USAO.

On April 25, 2021, the USAO said Hudson submitted a second false and fraudulent PPP loan application, claiming to be a sole proprietor operating a barbershop under the tradename of “Alfredo Enterprise.” The second draw PPP loan application also fraudulently represented Alfredo Enterprise’s 2019 gross income, prosecutors said.

In support of the application, Hudson is said to have submitted a different false and fraudulent IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, for the tax year 2019. The fraudulent application was approved, and Hudson obtained approximately $11,251 in PPP loan proceeds from a Florida-based lender, said the USAO.

“Subsequently, Hudson submitted a false and fraudulent PPP loan forgiveness application to the Small Business Administration (SBA) seeking repayment forgiveness for the PPP second draw loan he received from the Florida-based lender. As a result of this false and fraudulent forgiveness application, the SBA excused the defendant from any repayment obligation on the second draw PPP loan,” said the USAO.

According to the criminal complaint, On August 4, 2022, Hudson admitted that he only made approximately $800 a month at most cutting hair at his house in Miami. He reportedly stated that he was not making the amount he claimed on the applications and that he made up the numbers on the applications. He used the loan proceeds to pay his “light bill and mortgage,” according to the complaint.

Hudson also admitted that he should not have applied for the loans but claimed that he did not think it was fraud since he was trying to start a business, the complaint said.

Hudson is scheduled for sentencing on May 24,  2 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman. He faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Small Business Administration, Investigations Division’s Eastern Region (SBA-OIG), announced the guilty plea.

FBI Miami and SBA-OIG investigated the case with assistance from the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Office of Inspector General (OIG). Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm is prosecuting the case.

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-20060.