STAMFORD, Conn. — A Stamford man plead guilty Wednesday to fraudulently taking $4 million in loans intended to help small businesses meet payroll during the first months of the pandemic, and using them to pay for a BMW, a Mercedes, and a Porsche
Moustapha Dikhate, 46, of Stamford plead guilty one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and one count of making an illegal monetary transaction, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
In April 2020, as part of the CARES Act, loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration were provided to cover payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. If certain criteria were met, the loan amount and interest would be forgiven.
According to authorities, Diakhate provided Citibank and M&T Bank with false information during the PPP loan application process in order to obtain the loan that would total more than $4 million. He used the PPP loan given to him by the banks to pay off loans he'd taken on a 2010 Porsche and then purchased a Mercedes and BMW.
Diahkate was arrested on May 7, 2021. He will be sentenced on April 21.
He was released on $450,000 bond pending sentencing.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 should be encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-730-5721 or at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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