Scranton man charged with committing COVID-19 relief fraud

SCRANTON – A Scranton man was indicted on charges he committed $850,000 in pandemic relief fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Yoel Weiss, 42, is charged with 41 counts of wire fraud, false statements to the Small Business Administration, identify theft, unlawful monetary transactions and witness tampering.

The indictment alleges Weiss owned and operated multiple corporate entities in Pennsylvania and New York, allegedly filing at least seven fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds through the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan program, said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam,

The applications allegedly submitted by Weiss were filed on behalf of corporate entities that did not have actual business operations, and that bore false dates of business establishment, false employee headcount information, and fabricated gross revenues, costs of goods sold, and lost rental income, according to a release.

Weiss allegedly obtained in excess of about $850,000 in EIDL funds through filing the fraudulent applications, which he spent on unapproved personal expenses.

Weiss is charged with 23 counts of making unlawful monetary transactions with the proceeds of his fraud. He is also charged with threatening and intimidating a witness in an attempt to influence and prevent the witness's testimony before a federal grand jury.

"The American tax system is designed to provide vital government services to our people. It is not a slush fund for thieves and fraudsters," said Amy MacNeely, acting special agent in charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service.