Fresno Trucking Business Owner Gets 14 Months For PPP Loan Fraud
India-West News Desk
FRESNO, CA – A local business owner who exploited federal COVID-19 relief programs to purchase real estate has been sentenced to over a year in federal prison. On March 25, U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston sentenced Gurjeet Bath, 37, of Fresno, to 14 months in prison for theft of government property. In addition to his prison term, Bath was ordered to pay a $100,000 criminal fine.
FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel noted that Bath fabricated records to steal more than $825,000 in federal funds meant to keep businesses afloat during a national crisis. Patel confirmed that the FBI and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General will continue pursuing everyone who treated pandemic relief as a personal bank account.
Court documents reveal that between 2020 and 2021, Bath orchestrated a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal initiative designed to help small businesses retain employees during the height of the pandemic. Bath, who operated two trucking companies alongside family members known as G.S. Bath Inc. and Complete Transportation Solutions, submitted three separate loan applications totaling more than $1 million. To secure the funds, Bath admitted to fabricating employee records to make his companies appear larger than they were and inflating wages to increase the amount of loan eligibility.
While the Paycheck Protection Program was intended to cover payroll and essential operating costs, investigators found that Bath used the stolen federal funds as a personal slush fund. Rather than supporting workers, he utilized the money to purchase two parcels of agricultural land in Fresno County.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant stated that during a time when legitimate businesses were struggling to survive, this defendant chose to exploit a program designed to keep workers employed. Grant added that while Bath has since pleaded guilty and repaid the stolen funds, that does not erase the harm caused.
