Catering Business Owner Indicted For Defrauding PPP, EIDL, & RRF – Fraud Friday
February 2, 2024
Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor
Fraud Friday – Catering Business Owner Indicted For Defrauding PPP, EIDL, & RRF
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the owner of a California catering company with one count of bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. Dory Lindsay Ford is being indicted for taking advantage of numerous SBA pandemic relief programs and spending millions of dollars on other personal investments.
Ford operated Aqua Terra Culinary, Inc. during the pandemic. He obtained $4 million in funds from the EIDL program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and the Paycheck Protection Program. The government is accusing him of using false and fraudulent representations and omitting and concealing material facts on the loan applications.
Upon receiving the funds, Ford allegedly used the money to purchase real estate in Belize. He also used the money to invest in the stock market and fund another business venture instead of spending the money on eligible expenses for the business that was named on the applications.
Based on Dory Ford’s LinkedIn account, he opened a mushroom business in 2021. As his only existing business, the SBA funds were likely put toward the mushroom business rather than his catering company.
His next court appearance was scheduled to take place earlier this week on January 31, 2024.
Source:
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release
Dory Ford LinkedIn