ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — Bradford Leland Fishback, a 40-year-old Utah businessman, was sentenced on Tuesday for fraudulently obtaining over $685,000 in government funds intended to assist small businesses during the early COVID-19 pandemic, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Fishback received a sentence of more than two years in prison, along with three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $685,845.05, as stated by the Department of Justice.
In 2023, Fishback pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and false claims. Court documents revealed that his false statements led him to claim $903,882.88 in COVID-relief funds, with $685,845.05 actually received.
Fishback admitted to devising a scheme to defraud the government by submitting requests for Employee Retention Tax Credits. He filed 22 Form 941 applications with the IRS on behalf of his four businesses, resulting in $482,058.46 from the IRS.
Additionally, Fishback submitted at least seven fraudulent loan applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, receiving $77,629 by making false claims about employees, wages, and profits. He also submitted five applications for Economic Injury Disaster loans, garnering $137,573, and falsely applied for unemployment benefits, receiving $45,831.
The investigation was conducted by the IRS and the FBI, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Dent and Jennifer K. Muyskens from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.