Easton Man Convicted of Wire Fraud

BOSTON - An Easton man was convicted today, following an eight-day trial of using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to secretly purchase a home in the name of a close relative.

Bill Dessaps, 49, was convicted of two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and one count of bank fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Jan. 15, 2026.In January 2024, five other individuals were charged for their alleged involvement in the PPP fraud scheme.

"Dessaps sought to defraud the American people through his misappropriation of COVID-19 relief loans. He scammed to enrich himself, at the expense of people in need" said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. "Today's conviction is another reminder that fraud does not pay."

"The guilty sentence of Bill Dessaps demonstrates IRS-CI's continued commitment to prosecuting all those who took advantage of the CARES Act for their own undue self-enrichment," said Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. "Dessaps defrauded a federal program designed to help those most in need at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic with the sole intent of living a lavish lifestyle, while others, who were truly in need, struggled."

Dessaps - the operator of an Abington-based used car dealership - allegedly conspired with individuals in Massachusetts and Florida to submit a fraudulent PPP application on behalf of Dessaps' dealership. The application they prepared and submitted for Dessaps' dealership falsely stated that the dealership had 40 employees and average monthly payroll expenses of $334,720. As a result of the applications, the lender disbursed a PPP loan of $836,800 to Dessaps. After receiving these funds, Dessaps made kickback payments to one or more of the individuals who assisted with the application.

After Dessaps received the PPP loan, he purchased a $750,000 home in the name of a straw buyer-his close relative-because his credit score would have prevented him from obtaining a mortgage on favorable terms, and because he purchased the home using PPP funds, a purchase the PPP prohibits. Dessaps, his close relative, and a real estate agent submitted false mortgage application documents to a lender, including forms and forged records that inflated the relative's income and assets. For a portion of the home costs, Dessaps transferred PPP proceeds into a joint bank account that he and his relative controlled. After a lender denied the close relative's application for a secondary loan for the remaining funds, Dessaps and his real estate agent arranged a sham gift of $127,500 from the real estate agent's girlfriend to the close relative, which Dessaps wired to the girlfriend. Through these and other misrepresentations, Dessaps obtained a $510,000 mortgage on the home and lived in it.

Dessaps also attempted to obtain a "Second Draw" PPP loan through another fraudulent application in March 2021.

The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the laundering transaction. The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Attorney Foley and IRS SAC Demeo made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Holcomb and Meghan C. Cleary of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department's response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.