Attorney Sanjay Patel Pleads Guilty To Scamming Covid Fund

India-West Staff Reporter

ATLANTA, GA – Sanjay Patel, an attorney who formerly operated a real estate law firm here, has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining nearly $300,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to using his attorney escrow account to launder more than $250,000 from unrelated investor fraud schemes.

“This office will remain steadfast in coordinating with our federal law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those who defrauded the government’s COVID relief programs,” said US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “It is especially aggravating that Patel, an attorney, not only used his professional standing to commit money laundering, but he also defrauded the American taxpayer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

“Even after four years, the FBI and our partners will continue to seek out anyone who abused their positions to defraud the government during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This plea proves that no matter how much time has passed, if you commit financial crimes and steal from American taxpayers, you will be held accountable.”

Between August 2020 and March 2021, Patel submitted four fraudulent EIDL loan applications to the Small Business Administration seeking at least $421,000 to purportedly operate his business, including his law practice, Worden & Associates.

In the fraudulent applications, Patel repeatedly misrepresented the number of employees his law firm employed, its gross revenues, and in at least one application, the existence of his business. In reliance on Patel’s fraudulent misrepresentations, the SBA funded two of his loans totaling approximately $300,000.

After receiving the loan proceeds, Patel misused the funds for unauthorized purposes. He spent the fraudulent EIDL loan proceeds he received on various things, including spending the funds at casinos, personal expenses, and to make payments toward non-business loans.

Separately, Patel used his Interest on Lawyer Trust Account to launder the proceeds from various investment frauds. For example, on May 14, 2020, Patel received $350,000 from an investor who believed the funds were going to be used for an energy project. But after receiving those funds, Patel immediately wired $250,000 to another entity, unrelated to the investment. Similarly, in June 2020, Patel received another $350,000 as part of a different energy investment. After receiving this investor money, Patel laundered over $132,000 by conducting a series of wire transfers to other accounts unrelated to the investment. Although Patel was not involved in the underlying fraudulent activity, he knew that these funds were derived from various investor fraud schemes.

Sanjay Patel, 45, of Mobile, Alabama, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12.