Through these fraudulent activities, Suel’s businesses received a total of $1,773,245 from COVID-related relief programs, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, both established to support Americans impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.
A federal jury in San Diego has convicted Leronce Suel, a California man, on multiple charges including wire fraud, conspiracy, and tax crimes. The verdict stems from Suel’s involvement in schemes designed to defraud COVID-19 relief programs and to submit false tax returns.
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Suel was the majority owner of Rockstar Dough LLC and Chicken Feed LLC, which operated restaurants in the San Diego area, including Streetcar Merchants in North Park. Suel conspired with accomplices to underreport over $1.7 million in gross receipts on Rockstar Dough’s 2020 corporate tax return as well as in applications for COVID-19 relief.
Through these fraudulent activities, Suel’s businesses received a total of $1,773,245 from COVID-related relief programs, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, both established to support Americans impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic. The jury found that Suel and his co-conspirator misappropriated these funds, making substantial cash withdrawals from business accounts, purchasing a home in Arkansas, and storing over $2.4 million in cash in his bedroom.
Suel’s businesses fraudulently received $1,773,245 million in COVID-related Paycheck Protection Program loans and Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, two programs created to provide financial assistance to Americans suffering economic harm as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suel and his co-conspirator misappropriated COVID-19 relief program funds by making substantial cash withdrawals from their business bank accounts, purchasing a home in Arkansas and keeping more than $2.4 million in cash in his bedroom.
Additionally, Suel failed to file his tax returns for the years 2018 and 2019, despite being legally obligated to do so. From 2020 to 2022, he also neglected to report income from his businesses and cash withdrawals on his personal tax returns. In 2023, Suel submitted false tax returns for several years, including amended personal returns for 2016 and 2017, which contained fictitious depreciable assets and exaggerated business losses.
Suel's fraudulent activities resulted in a total tax loss of $1,292,976 to the IRS. He was convicted on multiple counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, tax evasion, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and filing false tax returns. However, he was acquitted of money laundering charges.
According to NBC Sandiago, Prosecutors said Suel had been evading personal and business taxes for at least a decade.Both of them also used some of the stolen money to buy a house in Arkansas and other personal expenses. Court documents also detailed how Suel hid $2.4 million in cash in shoeboxes in his bedroom.
Following the verdict, Suel agreed to forfeit $1,466,918 in U.S. currency linked to his fraudulent activities. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13. Suel faces significant penalties, including a maximum of 30 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, up to five years for tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States, three years for each count of filing false tax returns, and one year for each count of failing to file tax returns. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant statutory factors.
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