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A man from St. Louis, Missouri, has been accused in an indictment of fraudulently obtaining nearly $600,000 in pandemic relief loans.
Shahron Vaulx, 39, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on six counts of bank fraud and two counts of wire fraud. He appeared in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment accuses Vaulx of submitting nine fraudulent applications, seeking a total of $649,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and receiving about $595,000.
Vaulx made the applications on behalf of Fortunnett Financial LLC, SD Incorporation LLC, SV Collections LLC, and SD Marketing LLC. The applications contained false information about monthly payroll and the number of company employees and were sometimes supported by fraudulent or misleading tax forms, the indictment states. Vaulx made bulk cash withdrawals, sent money to others, and used other funds on unapproved personal expenses, including personal credit card bills, clothing, advertisements, and payments to OnlyFans, according to the indictment.
The PPP loans were intended to help small businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bank fraud and wire fraud charges are each punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey is prosecuting the case.
