MACON, Ga. — A Macon man and former state house candidate was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly filing a false COVID loan application and using the funds for personal use, including purchasing a nearly $120,000 Bentley.
According to the indictment, James Frank Austin Jr. — who ran for the Georgia State House back in 2016 — and Rosalend Way received over $2 million in Paycheck Protection Program assistance.
That's the COVID-19 era program which helped cover payroll expenses for businesses disrupted by the pandemic.
With the $2 million in aid, prosecutors say Austin and Way "used the majority of these funds for personal use."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin filed a PPP loan request claiming his business, Austin Smith Center for Community Development, employed 15 to 26 people and had a monthly payroll of roughly $650,000, the indictment says. They also filed a loan request for another organization, the Propel Opportunity Fund.
However, according to prosecutors, the information in those applications were not true.
They say some of the forms Austin submitted to support those claims were completely fabricated, with the organization having actually never filed the documents — such as a IRS Form 941 — they used as evidence.
In fact, prosecutors say that while Austin claimed the Propel Opportunity Fund (POF) had 18 employees and $149,000 in monthly payroll expenses, they actually had no employees and didn't pay any salaries or wages.
But with the $2 million in COVID aid disbursed, the indictment alleges Austin and Way went on a spending spree.
They say the two "used the majority of these funds for personal use."
Prosecutors say that they used over $30,000 off PPP funds to pay off Way's loan with "Mercedes-Benz Financial."
They also say that Austin used the COVID-19 aid to purchase a Bentley from Foreign Cars International to the tune of $119,840.
Prosecutors accuse Austin and Way of using "false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises" to defraud the government and "enrich themselves," the indictment claims.
Now, they are charged with bank fraud, money laundering and more.
Since the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Justice has cracked down on COVID-19 assistance fraud.
Last week, a former NFL player and Atlanta businessman was sentenced to a year in prison for his part in COVID-19 fraud. Prosecutors say he used the funds to flaunt on social media, buy a Rolex watch and rent a luxury hotel room.
Back in January, a Byron woman was sentenced to 5 years in prison for their part in COVID-19 fraud. In August 2022, a Telfair County woman was sentenced to five years for COVID-19 fraud, too.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by clicking here.