Maryland Accountant Sentenced to Federal Prison in Connection With $24-Million COVID Relief Fraud Scheme

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Harold Dotson, 54, of Gaithersburg Maryland, to three years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release - including six months of home confinement - in connection with a conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions. The fraud involved submitting more than $24 million in fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. Judge Bennett also ordered Dotson to pay $24,807,432 in restitution.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Baltimore Field Office.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act - a federal law enacted in March 2020 - provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives financial assistance including forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses. Established by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) - administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) - along with the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), helped businesses meet their financial obligations. An EIDL advance does not have to be repaid, and small businesses can receive an advance, even if they are not approved for an EIDL loan. The maximum advance amount is $10,000.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, beginning in April 2020, and continuing through January 2022, Dotson engaged in multiple wire fraud conspiracies. These conspiracies involved submitting fraudulent loan applications for various COVID-19 relief benefits, including EIDL and PPP loans.

Dotson, an accountant and tax preparer, served as the owner and principal of H&M Tax Service LLC (H&M Tax), doing business as H&M Financial Group, LLC - a tax preparation business - during the time frame of the conspiracies. He used his accountant expertise to assist with preparing numerous false and fraudulent EIDL and PPP applications for purported businesses that did not exist in any legitimate capacity.

The fraudulent loan applications included false information about the phony businesses' number of employees, monthly payroll costs, and revenue. Dotson also routinely created false and fraudulent Internal Revenue Service tax forms. He created the fraudulent tax forms for co-conspirator Ahmed Sary, 47, of Brooklyn, Maryland, and other co-conspirators to submit with the false PPP applications.

In return, Dotson received a percentage of the fraudulent loan proceeds, ranging from 2 to 27 percent. Through the scheme, Dotson received more than $828,498.95 from the co-conspirators. Then Dotson primarily used the fraudulent funds to gamble at various casinos in Maryland, including Maryland Live, the Horseshoe, and MGM National Harbor. He also used the money for a gambling trip to Las Vegas.

Dotson's conspiracy with Sary resulted in the disbursement of $14,807,609.37 in fraudulently obtained PPP funds in connection with more than 85 fraudulent PPP loans. Additionally, Dotson's conspiracy with another co-conspirator resulted in the disbursement of at least 30 fraudulent PPP loans valued at least $6,499,823.12. More than $3,500,000 was funded and disbursed in connection with Dotson's submission of fraudulent EIDL applications.

In June 2024, Judge Bennett sentenced Sary to seven years in federal prison in connection with the conspiracy.

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the CARES Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

For more information on the Department's response to the pandemic, please visit 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: justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, SBA-OIG and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Joseph L. Wenner, who are prosecuting the case, and recognized Paralegal Specialist Julie Jarman and Joanna Huber for their valuable assistance.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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