Charlotte man sentenced in $780,000 COVID fraud scheme that paid for his luxury vehicle
A Charlotte tax preparer was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for fraudulently obtaining $780,000 in COVID relief funds from the federal government and for money laundering, authorities said Thursday.
Zadih Cadyma, 66, received funds through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The scheme occurred between 2020 and 2021, said Dena King, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Cadyma owned CFE Tax Services in Charlotte and other businesses. He received 10 fraudulent loans from the EIDL program totaling $550,000; and thee PPP loans for $230,000 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
To get the money, Cadyma lied on the applications about revenues, payroll expenses, employee counts and other operation expenses, authorities said.
Cadyma used the money to support his lifestyle and to purchase a new luxury vehicle, according to the news release, which did not indicate what vehicle he bought.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on April 27, 2023.
Cadyma was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence and to pay close to $763,000 in restitution.
For the announcement, King was joined by Robert DeWitt, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, and Donald Eakins, special agent in charge of criminal investigation for the Internal Revenue Service in Charlotte. Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Billings prosecuted the case.
COVID fraud in the Charlotte region
To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of N.C. has prosecuted around 30 people for defrauding government funding programs.
In February, a former Huntersville couple was charged with fraudulently obtaining $2 million in bank loans and COVID relief funds from the federal government for a moving business.
