Springfield business owner pleads guilty to PPP fraud scheme

Following his indictment in December, a Springfield business owner has pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government via the Paycheck Protection Program established through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

Jason L. Hemingway, 47, admitted to fraudulently obtaining $316,062 in PPP funds and using the money for unauthorized purposes, including his own personal benefit, according to a news release from the office of R. Matthew Price, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Hemingway pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering, and he agreed to pay restitution in the amount of his PPP loans and to forfeit any property derived from the scheme.

Hemingway applied for two PPP loans on behalf of his business, Principal Transfer Group LLC, in February and April of 2021. According to the federal government, Hemingway falsely inflated the number of employees at his business, certified that the PPP loans would be used for eligible business expenses and used the name of another person without their knowledge or authorization to obtain the loans.

A federal judge will determine Hemingway’s sentence, according to the release. Under federal statutes, Hemingway could be subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud and up to 10 years in prison for money laundering.