Twin Brothers pleads guilty to pandemic loan fraud in North Bay – CBS San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) – Two 66-year-old brothers pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court to making false statements to a financial institution in separate schemes to defraud the federal government of more than $ 2 million in funds emergency aid in the event of a pandemic.

Cesar Oskan, of San Rafael, and Ester Ozkar (also known as Eser Ozkay), of Novato, admitted in their guilty pleas that between March 2020 and June 2020, they each submitted multiple claims. Fraudulent Economic Disaster Loans Separate and Paycheck Protection Loan Programs, with the aim of defrauding the Small Business Administration and the banks that administer payday loans. Both loan programs are designed to help businesses survive during the Covid-19 pandemic.

READ MORE: Mountain Lion captured alive in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood

In his written plea agreement, Oskan admitted that he obtained $ 1,006,004 in fraudulent paycheck loans and $ 713,500 in fraudulent disaster loans and advances. In Ozkar’s plea deal, he admitted he got $ 474,132 in fraudulent paycheck loans and $ 9,000 in disaster advances.

“Pandemic relief funds are limited and intended to prevent legitimate struggling companies from going bankrupt,” Acting US lawyer Stephanie M. Hinds said in a Justice Department press release on Wednesday. . “Individuals, like these two brothers, who treat these relief funds like their personal bank accounts deserve to be vigorously prosecuted.”

READ MORE: Botany buffs brave long lines to get a ‘corpse flower’ scent in Alameda

“Honest, law-abiding citizens are fed up with those who use deception and fraud to line their pockets with money intended to help businesses affected by the pandemic,” said Michael Daniels, Acting Special Agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service. Criminal investigation. “Those who engage in this type of financial fraud need to know that they will not go unnoticed and that they will be held accountable.”

Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of one million dollars.

In addition to the US Department of Justice, the case involved the efforts of the IRS, FBI, Secret Service, Treasury Department, Office of the Inspector General of Small Business Administration, Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

NO MORE NEWS: UPDATE: Asian woman assaulted on BART train in San Francisco

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.