A former U.S. Air Force dentist accused of defrauding the COVID-19 relief fund of about $1.5 million to invest in cryptocurrency pleaded guilty on July 23, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dr. Muhammad Adil Quraish, 35, who was a dentist in the U.S. Air Force from 2017 until 2022 and was assigned to the Pentagon during some of his service, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Quraish is scheduled to be sentenced in October and faces up to five years in prison, according to a press release dated July 24 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Between April 2020 and December 2021, Quraish, of Alexandria, VA, allegedly conspired with at least four co-conspirators to submit materially false applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans and an economic injury disaster loan, which were set up to offer financial support to assist businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the press release.
After learning about the programs, Quraish reportedly discussed applying for loans with co-conspirators with intentionally inflated and falsified payroll information to receive loans that the businesses were not entitled to receive. Quraish is accused of inflating the number of employees each entity claimed and the quarterly and annual payroll figures for several entities.
Furthermore, Quraish allegedly created fake payroll records and IRS tax forms. Also, he purportedly caused or falsely certified that the forms had been filed with the IRS, according to the release.
The fraudulent conspiracy led Quraish and his co-conspirators to profit nearly $1.5 million. The dentist used the funds to invest in cryptocurrency and more.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
