Arizona man pleads guilty to defrauding government agencies of $850,000

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona man has pled guilty to defrauding government programs and agencies of over $850,000.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Roy Layne entered the guilty plea on Wednesday for wire fraud and filing a false refund claim with the IRS.

In 2020 and 2021, Layne allegedly submitted applications on behalf of several fake businesses to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. These federal programs were created to provide financial assistance to Americans who suffered economic harm as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DOJ said Layne’s applications claimed the business employed dozens of people and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in receipts.

He is also accused of creating false business and employment tax forms, filing those with the IRS and submitting them to the SBA.

The DOJ said Layne was able to obtain over $300,000 in loans that he was not entitled to.

In 2022, Layne allegedly filed false returns with the IRS, seeking nearly $7.5 million in refunds. He was paid about $550,000 of that by the IRS.

His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2025. He will face a maximum of 30 years in prison for each wire fraud charge and five years for the false claim charge.

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