COVID Relief Fraud Sends Minnesota Man to Federal Prison
St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for defrauding COVID relief programs.
The US Attorney for Minnesota says 75-year-old Harold Benny Kaeding for community will was accused of fraudulently applying for more than $2.1 million in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which were set up by the federal government in response to the COVID pandemic. A news release indicates that the Eden Prairie man allegedly used the name of close family members to submit loan applications in the names of six purported corporate entities that were either defunct or were not even in existence when the pandemic began.
Federal prosecutors say Kaeding was able to obtain more than $1.6 million in COVID relief funds before financial institutions detected irregularities and confiscated some of the funds. At his trial, evidence was presented that he was able to retain nearly $650,000 in proceeds from the fraud scheme.
The news release says Kaeding fled to Columbia after he learned he was under investigation. Federal investigators eventually located him in the South American nation and were able to bring him back to the US for prosecution.
Kaeding was found guilty of three counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering during the trial that was held in August.
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