A Utah businessman was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for fraudulently using almost half a million dollars of COVID-19 relief funds.
Troy Campbell, 57, of Taylorsville, pleaded guilty in May to wire fraud and money laundering. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah said he conducted a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program and Small Business Administration.
In total, Campbell obtained $437,230 in COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program loan proceeds, which were implemented during the pandemic to aid small businesses.
Starting in July 2020 until early 2023, Campbell sought the loans on behalf of Salt IT Solutions LLC, a company he owned. In his applications, however, he misrepresented the number of employees and the monthly payroll, submitted fake tax documents and “grossly inflated wage information,” the charges state.
Campbell also transferred about $75,000 to another participant in the fraud, according to the charges.
U.S. District Judge David Barlow sentenced Campbell on Nov. 25 to 18 months in prison plus two years of probation. The judge also ordered Campbell to repay all $437,230 in restitution.
“Mr. Campbell’s crimes impacted all taxpaying citizens and small business owners that legitimately needed pandemic-related assistance during a challenging time,” said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. “My office, along with our law enforcement partners are committed to bringing justice to those who exploited the pandemic for their personal gain.”