How a Mooresville businessman conned the government out of $2.6 million in COVID funds
A 53-year-old Mooresville man is facing prison time for organizing a multimillion-dollar investment scheme and fraudulently receiving more than $2.6 million in COVID relief funds .
Steven Andiloro pleaded guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud on Thursday in a Charlotte federal court, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina . Both crimes carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
From 2018 to 2021, he ran an investment fraud scheme and persuaded victims to invest money in businesses that were both real and fake, according to the plea agreement and court records. He told victims that their money would be invested into his car service business and a non-existent marijuana dispensary.
But Andiloro did not keep his promise and used money from victims to pay for personal expenses and Ponzi-style payments to other investors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Andiloro also used fraud to get money from the government's Paycheck Protection Program . The PPP money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 was intended to help businesses going through economic hardship during the pandemic.
From April 2020 to March 2021, he submitted false financial information like fake employment data, inflated revenues, costs and payroll expenses, according to court records. After receiving $2.6 million in PPP funds, Andiloro spent the money on his personal lifestyle and made payments towards his investment scheme.
Andiloro was released on bond. His sentencing date has not been set.
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established in May 2021 by the U.S. Attorney General's Office to combat and prevent pandemic fraud with the assistance of government agencies. During the investigation of Andiloro, the U.S. Attorney's Office was assisted by the U.S. Secret Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General.
COVID fraud in the Charlotte region
Andiloro's case is one of many in the Charlotte region investigated by government agents. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina has charged more than 30 people in COVID fraud-related cases and 22 have been sentenced as of fall 2024.
During the summer, Antoine Johnson and Kimberly Maddox, formerly of Huntersville , pleaded guilty to fraudulently using their moving business to receive $2 million in bank loans and COVID relief funds from the federal government.
Ashley Cross , a behavioral health services provider, was convicted in May by a federal jury for defrauding the South Carolina Medicaid program, falsely obtaining COVID relief funds and money laundering, according to a news release from King's office.
She used the personal information of Medicaid beneficiaries to file reimbursement claims totaling $1.3 million. Cross also obtained more than $287,000 in COVID PPP loans for her business and Gucci International Inc., a purported event-planning business owned by her boyfriend and co-conspirator.
A sentencing date has not been set.
In March, Zadih Cadyma, a Charlotte tax preparer , was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for fraudulently obtaining $780,000 in COVID relief funds from the federal government and for money laundering.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is encouraging anyone to report information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19. They can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or online at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
