Fraud Friday: $14 Million PPP Loan Fraudster with Two Wives Gets 10 Years in Prison
March 13, 2026
Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher
Fraud Friday: $14 Million PPP Loan Fraudster with Two Wives Gets 10 Years in Prison
Sharhabeel Shreiteh was sentenced on March 11th to 10 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $14 million PPP loan fraud scheme. It is one of the longest prison sentences imposed in a PPP fraud case.
Shreiteh operated a tax preparation business in the suburbs of Chicago and maintained what prosecutors described as a comfortable life. But PPP loan fraud generated far higher income.
Investigators determined Shreiteh received at least $741,000 in kickbacks from the scheme, and likely more.
When law enforcement searched his home in 2022, agents recovered $300,000 in cash.
He used the proceeds of the fraud for luxury vacations and expensive home renovations.
He also sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Palestine, where he built a luxury second home for his Palestinian wife and their children.
Which did not please his other wife.
On July 15, 2021, his American Chicago suburbanite wife texted him, “You suck! I bust my ass for 13 years and don’t have like she gets without working for it!!! . . . You gave her kids, a villa, now fancy cars??!! . . . To the point you are helping her show off her American husband and gonna buy her a Mercedes jeep??!!! I’m so sick and tired of being lied to by you!!!”
Investigators also found evidence that Shreiteh committed tax fraud on his own returns.
For tax years 2020 and 2021, he reported taxable income of just $4,161 and $4,366.
During those same years, Shreiteh and his American wife collected $42,176 in unemployment benefits from the State of Illinois and $3,579 from the State of Ohio.
Prosecutors said Shreiteh worked with recruiters, including co-defendant Tracy Mitchell, who sent applicants to him. Shreiteh submitted over 1,500 false PPP applications on their behalf in exchange for kickbacks of more than $1,000 per application.
The applications were nearly identical and blatantly false.
Shreiteh did not know the applicants’ jobs or whether they had any jobs at all. Yet almost every application claimed an annual income between $90,000 and $100,000, a range intended to qualify for the maximum PPP loan available to a sole proprietor.
Many applications listed fabricated occupations such as Uber driver.
Shreiteh also prepared and submitted false Schedule C tax forms to support the fraudulent loan applications.
Text messages presented in court showed Shreiteh knew he was committing crimes but continued the scheme anyway.
In January 2021, co-defendant Mitchell messaged Shreiteh, asking him to prepare a tax return for a fraudulent corporation.
Shreiteh replied, “Motherf*****, it’s not coffee.”
Mitchell responded, “You getting paid big money . . . your getting your 5k.”
Shreiteh agreed to create the false return and wrote, “You gonna put my ass in jail soon. Most stupid fraud in history.”
Despite acknowledging the risk, Shreiteh escalated the scheme.
In March 2021, he texted Mitchell, “Send me 5 people a day. I will apply for them. 1000 each my fees. My own emails with good bank.”
In April 2021, Shreiteh even sent Mitchell a link to a Department of Justice press release announcing an indictment for PPP fraud.
He continued submitting fraudulent forgiveness applications later that same month.