Technical executive sentenced to 2 years for $ 1.8 million COVID fraud

SEATTLE – A Washington state tech executive has been sentenced to two years in prison after fraudulently securing nearly $ 1.8 million in federal loans for COVID-19 disaster relief.

Mukund Mohan, of Clyde Hill, previously worked for Microsoft and Amazon and was making over $ 200,000 a year as the chief technology officer for Canadian e-commerce company BuildDirect when he was arrested in July 2020.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle said it submitted eight fraudulent loan applications to the Paycheck Protection Program for $ 5.5 million for companies it allegedly ran, and that it in fact had received nearly $ 1.8 million.

Mohan’s lawyers requested a six-month sentence, noting that Mohan had no criminal history and had only spent $ 16,500 of the money. They said his actions, possibly triggered by mental health issues, were such an aberration to him that he passed out when federal agents knocked on his door.

The federal authorities were able to seize the money from Mohan’s accounts. He reimbursed the amount he had spent and was ordered to pay a fine of $ 100,000.

As part of the scheme, Mohan submitted false and altered documents, including false federal income tax returns and altered incorporation documents. He said that one of his companies had dozens of employees when in reality it had none.

In a press release, Corinne Kalve, acting special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigations, attributed the crime to Mohan’s greed, saying that when people abuse these benefit programs, “they rob those who are the most vulnerable ”.