WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Charges have been laid against six individuals in Palm Beach County, who authorities have alleged used taxpayers’ funds intended for their businesses’ survival during the pandemic on luxury cars and extravagant vacations. The prosecution revealed this on Monday.
A nonprofit related to the now-demolished First Baptist Church on 12th Street in Riviera Beach, the destruction of which occurred nearly two years prior, was among the businesses.
However, investigators asserted that nonprofits that utilized the church’s address, which according to allegations, were overseen by the church’s pastor, improperly received $1.1 million of taxpayers’ money.
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Approximately two years ago, the then-deteriorating church was struggling to stay afloat, but it couldn’t keep up with a $1.2 million loan meant for repairs.
The arrest records revealed that the church’s pastor, Holmer Altidor, obtained three individual Paycheck Protection Program loans in both 2020 and 2021 for nonprofits associated with his church.
“For the loans that he secured, our probe determined he was undeserving, with a sum over $1 million,” says Ted Padich, a Paycheck Protection Program fraud task force agent.
After the property was acquired by a developer in 2022, the church was demolished.
Nonetheless, the issues with Altidor resurfaced a year later when investigations into whether the funds were expended to keep employees on payroll and the nonprofits running were initiated by the Riviera Beach police and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s office.
WPTV
Ted Padich comments on March 18, 2024 about the recent arrests linked to an apparent scam exploiting the Paycheck Protection Program.
The arrest statement suggested that the PPP funds were used for junk food, fuel, vehicle rentals, air tickets, and dining expenses, thus leading to Altidore being imprisoned for fraud and money laundering charges.
“The one who was held created two distinct nonprofits, or businesses you could say, using the address of the church,” Jennifer Jones, a detective from Riviera Beach police, declared.
Dave Aronberg, the Palm Beach County State Attorney, declared that his office has leveled charges against five other businesses in the case, counting a luxury automobile dealer amongst them.
James Paul, a tax preparer from Delray Beach, was also apprehended after claims that he claimed over $50,000 in PPP loans whilst concurrently “accepting unemployment benefits” with an excess of “$17,000 expenses at the Seminole Casino.”
“The act itself is dreadful enough against taxpayers. The timing of it – during and following the COVID crisis – only compounds its severity,” asserted Aronberg.
Aronberg also revealed that there were more ongoing Payroll Protection Plan fraud probes, but conceded that the fraud was so pervasive that only a small portion of the culprits might be caught, particularly those who committed the crime during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“PPP culprits are being held accountable for swindling taxpayers in the heart of a pandemic,” affirmed Aronberg. “We encourage citizens to report any tips to the task force at 1-844-324-5463.”