Retired Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Agrees to Plead Guilty to PPP Fraud

BOSTON - A retired Sergeant for the Massachusetts State Police has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to allegedly fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan, which was later forgiven.

Damian Halfkenny, 54, of Boston, was charged with one count of wire fraud. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the court.

According to the charging document, in 2021, Halfkenny was employed full-time as a Sergeant with the Massachusetts State Police. He also owned and rented several real estate properties, a business for which he had no employees. It is alleged that in March 2021, Halfkenny submitted a PPP loan application for his real estate business, falsely representing that he had a monthly payroll expense of $8,488. In support of this application, Halfkenny allegedly provided a fabricated IRS Schedule C. Based on his alleged misrepresentations, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued Halfkenny, and later forgave, a $21,220 PPP loan.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.