An Arkansas Man Will Spend 16 Years in Prison for $16 Million EIDL Fraud – Fraud Friday

December 6, 2024

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

An Arkansas Man Will Spend 16 Years in Prison for $16 Million EIDL Fraud – Fraud Friday

Yesterday, Tyler Keith Andrews was handed down a lengthy sentence for fraudulently applying for COVID-19 EIDLs and helping others apply for funding. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Andrews to a year of prison time for every million dollars of fraud. He will also have to pay $16.33 million in restitution and forfeit $4.3 million.

From 2020 to 2022, Andrews submitted several fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications for his own businesses. The applications falsely reported that the businesses were active and included incorrect information on payroll, number of employees, revenue, and more. For his businesses, Andrews obtained $3.25 million in PPP and EIDL funding. The Department of Justice also notes that Andrews obtained $1.23 million from other SBA programs, though they do not disclose which programs.

He decided to assist others with committing fraud too. Andrews directed other borrowers on how to fill out the applications with false and fraudulent information. This resulted in dozens of EIDL applications being submitted. In return, Andrews charged a fee for each loan that was approved. Typically, he would take 10% of the loan proceeds for himself. He successfully helped his co-conspirators obtain nearly $13.45 million.

One such borrower was Yuriy Anishchenko. Andrews helped Anishchenko with preparing two EIDL applications for two of his businesses. The fraudulent applications resulted in Anishchenko receiving $300,000 for his businesses that were inactive at the time of application. After sharing loan proceeds with Andrews, Anishchenko referred dozens of potential clients to Andrews.

As if the millions of dollars of fraud weren’t bad enough, he continued to dig his own grave in July 2023. Andrews was released pending trial after he was initially arrested and indicted. During the free time, he was attempting to fraudulently obtain a passport using false information. His attempt to flee fell short after he was arrested again for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft.

“I commend the stellar investigative work on these cases performed by the Strike Force and especially in this case by SBA OIG, the FBI, and TIGTA,” says U.S. Attorney Waldref.  “The extent of Mr. Andrews’s fraud – more than $16 million is staggering. I’m so grateful for the support and collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.  This was an extensive and wide-ranging conspiracy that required exceptional investigative work and close coordination.”

Sources:
U.S. Attorney’s Press Release – Sentence
U.S. Attorney’s Press Release – Guilty Plea