Nevada man sentenced to more than 2 years for COVID relief fraud

WASHINGTON (KOLO) - A Nevada man has been sentenced to two years and four months for COVID-19 relief fraud and money laundering.

A court found that 52-year-old Brandon Casutt of Henderson obtained more than $500,000 in PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and then laundered it through family, friends, and others.

Casutt submitted multiple false and fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration and four SBA lenders on behalf of two entities he controlled, seeking more than $5.7 million.

Two of those applications, a PPP loan for $350,000 for a purported business called Sky Design and a EIDL loan for $150,000 to a purported charity called Skyler’s CF Foundation, were granted.

The loan applications claimed each entity had numerous employees, significant payroll expenses, and substantial revenue. In fact, neither had employees or paid wages.

After Casutt obtained the PPP money, he laundered it by writing dozens of fake payroll checks, each in the amount of approximately $8,330, to himself, family members, and friends. He falsely wrote “pandemic pay” or “back pay” in the check memo, then cashed or deposited the fake paychecks.

Days later, at Casutt’s direction, the money was then directed back to a bank account under his control. He used the money to buy a home in Henderson.

He pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2020 to one count of wire fraud and one count of concealment money laundering.