Joel Greenberg, the indicted former "wingman" of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), is facing a long list of criminal charges, but one that's gotten fairly little attention involves committing bribery to fraudulently obtain COVID pandemic relief loans.
The Daily Beast reports that Greenberg fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Economic Injury Disaster Loans by bribing a recently hired Small Business Administration official to overlook federal regulations.
"Prosecutors say Greenberg, with help from a 'Recruiter Conspirator,' conscripted a government loan officer to override the SBA's automated system," reports The Daily Beast. "Among the list of criteria that the co-conspirators faked was revenue in the preceding year (a combined $1.2 million), the number of employees (12), operational dates, and, rather remarkably, that Greenberg was not under criminal indictment at the time."
This last piece of fraud is particularly noteworthy because Greenberg actually applied for the loan literally one day after he was arrested and charged with identity theft and stalking a political opponent.
In total, Greenberg paid $3,000 to the SBA official and scored more than $400,000 worth of loans.