Fraud Friday — Serial Criminal Gets 9 Years in Prison for $3 Million PPP Loan Fraud

February 14, 2025

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher 

Fraud Friday — Serial Criminal Gets 9 Years in Prison for $3 Million PPP Loan Fraud

Earlier this week, Christopher Carroll was sentenced to 9 years in prison for a $3 million PPP loan fraud. This sentence is on the high end for a white-collar crime of this amount, but Carroll’s extensive criminal history significantly contributed to his sentence.

In April 2020, just as the SBA PPP loan portal opened, Carroll and his partner submitted a fraudulent $1.2 million application for a company called Square One Group. Prosecutors described this company as one that preyed on elderly victims as part of a timeshare exit scam, noting that it was subject to numerous lawsuits by victims.

Carroll diverted the PPP loan funds to a new venture called The Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair. He later sought a second loan of more than $1.6 million, taking a total of $660,000 in owner draws once the loan was funded.

DOJ Sentencing Memorandum
February 2, 2025

The memorandum described Carroll as “a dangerous violent person who stands convicted of multiple federal crimes including PPP loan fraud conspiracy, violations of the Clean Air Act, and witness tampering.” Carroll used fraudulently obtained taxpayer funds to personally profit and fund his pet project, Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair, a business he then used to violate the Clean Air Act.

Carroll ran a fleet of diesel trucks, many of which were purchased with fraudulently obtained funds. He personally directed his employees to remove the diesel emission controls from his trucks to increase engine performance.

Prosecutors noted Carroll’s extensive criminal history, stating, “Between 1989 and 2021, Carroll appears to have gone no longer than 18 months without committing a new crime while not incarcerated, and even while incarcerated, Carroll incurred multiple infractions.” In 2018, he allegedly conspired to murder Andre Montgomery.

“Carroll is a ‘consummate fraudster,'” the government sentencing memo says, “who ran a company that preyed on elderly victims before committing the pandemic loan fraud and other crimes.” Carroll is also “a dangerous, violent person,” the memo says, citing prior convictions including felonious restraint and forcible sodomy and evidence of Carroll’s participation in a murder-for-hire scheme.

“This prosecution reinforces our office’s priority of going after the worst pandemic fraudsters,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “People like Christopher Carroll took advantage of a once-in-a-generation crisis to enrich themselves at the expense of struggling Americans. This office will continue to make sure that defendants like Carroll are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”