Jap District of California | Placer County Man Pleads Responsible to Stealing Practically $1.5 million in COVID-Reduction Loans to Fund Lavish Life-style

Jedrek Upton, 45, of Lincoln, pleaded responsible to 1 depend of wire fraud and one depend of cash laundering, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant introduced.

According to courtroom paperwork, between January 2021 and May 2022, Upton repeatedly lied on functions for COVID-19 catastrophe reduction funds that he submitted on behalf of his companies. The misrepresentations included false statements concerning the variety of workers or payroll and that he would spend the cash to alleviate financial harm brought on by COVID-19. In help of those functions, Upton additionally submitted falsified IRS paperwork.

In actuality, a few of the companies had no workers or payroll, and Upton spent a lot of the cash acquired on private bills. Upton acquired almost $1.5 million in ill-gotten loans from the United States, a big portion of which was finally forgiven after Upton falsely claimed that he had spent it on payroll. Instead of reliable enterprise bills, the cash that Upton acquired allowed him to fund a lavish way of life. He paid off private bank cards, transferred cash to different individuals, leased a Ferrari and a Lamborghini, and made a big down cost on a $2.7 million, 10-acre property.

In addition to pleading responsible, Upton agreed to forfeit his curiosity within the property he bought and pay almost $1.5 million in restitution to the United States.

This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dhruv M. Sharma is prosecuting the case.

Upton is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on March 24, 2026. Upton faces a most statutory penalty of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 high-quality on the wire fraud depend, and 10 years in jail and a $250,000 high-quality on the cash laundering depend. The precise sentence, nonetheless, will likely be decided on the discretion of the courtroom after consideration of any relevant statutory components and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into consideration a variety of variables.