Great Lakes Wire

LANSING – On July 20, 2023, Anthony Golden, 66, of Frankenmuth, was arraigned before the Honorable Terry L. Clark in the 70th District Court in Saginaw on five felony charges for fraudulently obtaining two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the federal government totaling nearly $41,000. Golden is charged with two counts of false pretenses in excess of $20,000, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of use of a computer to commit a crime.

The state alleges Golden applied for and received two PPP loans by claiming to have payroll income that was impacted by the pandemic even though he did not. Golden is alleged to have subsequently sought and received forgiveness of both loans, representing the funds were used in compliance with the PPP rules and certifying that the funds were used primarily for payroll. Golden failed to report the improperly forgiven loans as income on his Michigan tax returns.  

The Homeland Security Investigations Detroit field office assisted with the investigation into Golden’s loans.

“I would like to thank the Homeland Security Investigations Detroit field office for the assistance in this investigation. During the Pandemic the United States Government was defrauded out of millions of dollars in the state of Michigan alone,” Nessel said. “My department will continue to hold those responsible who try to take advantage of government aid programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program.”

“Our agents will continue to investigate PPP fraud in our communities and work with our partners to hold offenders accountable,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. “These funds were designed to help struggling businesses but as we have seen before, some saw this as an opportunity to steal from taxpayers.”

Golden will next appear before the Honorable M. Randall Jurrens of the 70th District Court for a preliminary examination conference on July 27, 2023 at 9:30am.  

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 Please note: A criminal charge is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Department does not provide booking photos.

Original source can be found here.