HARRISBURG, PA — Creed White, a 65-year-old businessman from Freeland, Maryland, is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction, according to an announcement made by United States Attorney’s Office on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
White, the owner of Aluminum Alloys MFG, LLC, an aluminum smelting and processing business in Yoe, York County, Pennsylvania, is also alleged to have owned or controlled 18 other sham corporate entities. These entities had no employees or business operations.
According to the information provided by Attorney Karam, White, in conspiracy with several of his employees and others, allegedly filed more than 120 fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds on behalf of these non-operational businesses. The funds were sought under programs such as the Payment Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. It’s alleged that 42 of these applications were approved, channeling more than $11.5 million into bank accounts controlled by White.
The applications allegedly contained multiple material misrepresentations about who operated the non-operational businesses. Furthermore, it’s alleged that fraudulent supporting documentation accompanied the PPP and EIDL applications. These documents included false information about the number of employees, fabricated bank records and financial statements, forged IRS documents, and false information regarding wages paid, taxes withheld, gross receipts, and other expenses.
White and his co-conspirators allegedly secured over $11.5 million in PPP and EIDL funds through these fraudulent applications. It’s also alleged that White misused the loan proceeds for his benefit and the benefit of his businesses.
U.S. Attorney Karam stated that fraudulently obtaining federal pandemic relief funds meant for eligible small businesses would not be tolerated. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, and the Small Business Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian T. Haugsby is prosecuting the case.
If found guilty, the combined maximum penalty under federal law for wire fraud and money laundering is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
It’s important to note that criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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