KC Reporter

In Jefferson City, Missouri, a business owner from Kingdom City has been sentenced in federal court for fraudulently obtaining over $673,000 in loans intended for several businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Scott Allen Maples, 40, was handed an 18-month sentence in federal prison without parole by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Additionally, the court ordered Maples to pay $684,034 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.

Maples pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud on February 7, 2023. He confessed that he had applied for and received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for several businesses by reporting exaggerated payroll expenses and submitting fabricated and altered bank statements and tax forms. Under the CARES Act, both the principal and interest on these loans were eligible for forgiveness if spent on permissible expenses such as payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utilities; a requisite portion of the loan also had to be allocated towards payroll expenses.

After submitting five fraudulent loan applications, Maples obtained a total of $673,127.04 in loan proceeds.

Maples confessed that he submitted a loan application to Square Inc., an authorized issuer of PPP loans, on May 6, 2020 on behalf of Area 23 LLC. He claimed there were 21 employees with an average monthly payroll of $69,548. Maples submitted fabricated documents to support this application and received a $173,872 loan. On May 15th of the same year he submitted another application to US Bank for Area 23 with identical claims about employees and payroll; once again he included fabricated documents as supporting evidence. This resulted in him receiving another $173,872 loan.

Maples also received a $51,750 PPP loan for Maples Enterprises through Square Inc.. In his application he stated that there were six employees earning a total of $20,700 per month on average. However, Department of Labor records showed that there was only one employee earning $182.50 in the first quarter of 2019. Another business, Clearance Depot, received a $270,632 PPP loan with Maples submitting statements that were later discovered to be altered and incorrect.

Maples also applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan seeking $30,000. This application contained suspected misrepresentations that overstated the prior year’s revenues. Although he received a $3,000 advance on this loan, the loan he sought was not issued.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer and investigated by the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the FDIC Office of Inspector General and IRS-Criminal Investigation.