Alabama man sentenced to over seven years in federal prison for COVID-19 loan scheme

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on Monday, a federal judge ordered that 39-year-old Kyle Nathan Carlisle, a resident of Phenix City, Alabama, receive a sentence of 92 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges related to loans received through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

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The CARES Act, a sweeping federal law passed in March 2020, was billed as emergency financial relief to help Americans weather the economic storm created by COVID-19. However, like many massive government programs, it became a breeding ground for fraud and abuse.

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The EIDL program, administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), was intended to support small businesses by providing funds for essential expenses like payroll and utilities.

However, according to Carlisle’s plea agreement and other court records, between July 2020 and April 2021, he applied for 23 EIDL loans online, many of which were duplicates. Five of the loans were ultimately funded. Carlisle made multiple false statements and misrepresentations in his applications, including the businesses’ revenue, the number of employees, and that he had no felony convictions in the last five years. Records indicate he had two 2016 felony convictions in Russell County, Alabama. Carlisle further admitted to submitting forged documents with the applications including fake or altered business licenses.

As a result of his scheme, Carlisle received approximately $600,000 for four separate applications. Part of the funding was recovered before it cleared Carlisle’s accounts. The total amount sought in the scheme was $3,470,832. Carlisle was also convicted of money laundering for using the illegal proceeds to purchase a vehicle, among other unauthorized personal expenses.

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In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered that Carlisle pay the Small Business Administration $547,846.54 in restitution. Carlisle was also ordered to forfeit the same amount to the United States government.

“Kyle Carlisle fabricated lies and forged documents in a scheme to divert taxpayer money for his own self-enrichment,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Davidson. “The EIDL program was intended to provide relief to actual struggling businesses during a pandemic that created an enormous economic burden on the entire country. My office remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who engage in activities that threaten the integrity of government programs.”

The FBI Mobile Field Office investigated this case, with assistance from the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General and the Alabama Department of Labor. Assistant United States Attorney J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted the case.

Following his prison sentence, Carlisle will be on supervised release for three years. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole.