Three brothers from Charleston, South Carolina, have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a large-scale wire fraud conspiracy involving Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced.
William Chan, 40, Siu Chan, 32, and Ka Ho Chan, 33, were sentenced for their involvement in submitting fraudulent loan applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. William and Siu received two-year prison terms, followed by three years of court-ordered supervision. Ka Ho received a 12-month sentence, along with three years of supervised release.
The brothers operated a series of restaurants in the Charleston area with other family members, and from March 2020, they applied for fraudulent PPP and EIDL loans. Using false information about their business expenses, gross revenue, and number of employees, they managed to acquire over $2.5 million in loans. Evidence against them included 22 loans that were approved.
Ka Ho Chan, who was also involved in a separate EIDL fraud case, was ordered to pay restitution between $300,000 and $350,000, which was based on the fraudulent loan proceeds. The loans were not used for their intended business purposes but were spent on personal items, including automobiles.
At sentencing, it was confirmed that the brothers had misused the funds for personal gain rather than assisting their restaurants during the pandemic. The total amount of fraudulent loans and misused PPP and EIDL funds exceeded $2.8 million.
