CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte man was sentenced to two years in federal prison for receiving more than $700,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
Evan Agustin Perez, 35, will spend 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for obtaining approximately $720,000 in fraudulent loans through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan Program through the Small Business Administration. He was also ordered to pay back $720,079.82 to the SBA.
Court documents show that Perez conspired with Edward Whitaker in a scheme to receive the fraudulent loans between April 2020 and September 2021 for several businesses and organizations he was associated with, including Augie's Wish Foundation, EMP Haircare, Touch of Precision School of Barbering, Inc. and Touch of Precision Barber Lounge. Documents show that Whitaker was running a sham business in Texas known as "Loan Starters," that helped people commit fraud with PPP loan applications and fake supporting documents.
Prosecutors say that Perez submitted numerous applications misrepresenting the number of people working for him and inflated the associated payroll costs, allowing him to get larger loans than he qualified for. Court documents show that Perez submitted fabricated tax documents with Whitaker's help that falsely corroborated the inflated payments.
Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in September 2023. Whitaker pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy for his role in the scheme in January 2023.
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