A former police officer with the city of Miami has admitted in federal court to milking a COVID-19 relief program for small businesses out of more than $40,000 while he was employed with the city.
Gregory Dennis, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Wednesday in connection with two fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans he submitted to a Small Business Administration (SBA) approved lender in 2021, court records show. The Broward County resident is scheduled to be sentenced June 13.
As part of the deal, Dennis agreed to resign from the Miami Police Department, surrender his Florida Department of Law Enforcement certification and to never work as a police officer ever again. Miami police told the Miami Herald that Dennis worked for the department since 2013 and had been relieved of duty without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Dennis, who was charged in March, will also have to forfeit all property and items he bought with the fraudulent loans he received. It is unclear what the money was used for.
Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales, whose internal affairs department was involved in the investigation, said the department holds its employees to the highest standard.
“We will not tolerate any violations to state, local and federal laws,” Morales told the Herald via a spokesperson.
On March 28, 2021, Dennis submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application claiming to be the only owner of a cleaning service company and falsely representing his business’ 2020 gross income, the U.SAttorney’s Office Southern District of Florida said in a news release. As a result, investigators say Dennis got a loan of $20,833 from a California-based lender.
Not satisfied with the thousands of dollars he received, investigators say, Dennis submitted a second fraudulent PPP loan application on April 10, 2021, using the same false IRS form that he utilized to obtained the first loan. Dennis received an additional loan of $20,833 from the same California-based lender.
The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force, which includes task force officers from the city of Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs Section, and SBA’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
In March 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized funding to the SBA to provide loans to eligible small businesses.
The U.S. Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams in September 2022.