Elk Grove Man Charged with Covid Relief Fraud

A federal grand jury returned an indictment, unsealed Thursday, charging Oleg Gregorvich Fursov, 52, of Elk Grove, with wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Fursov fraudulently obtained more than $1 million as part of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program to purportedly assist his business in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Fursov used the funds for his own personal use.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Fursov faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S. Department of Justice. The California Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources in the Eastern and Central Districts of California and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces use prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.