A 39-year-old Shelton man was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in federal prison for defrauding COVID-19 relief programs of nearly $300,000 by submitting false loan applications and filing for unemployment benefits using the identities of deceased people. U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley sentenced Vincenzo Minutolo in Bridgeport federal court and ordered him to pay […]
A 39-year-old Shelton man was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in federal prison for defrauding COVID-19 relief programs of nearly $300,000 by submitting false loan applications and filing for unemployment benefits using the identities of deceased people.
U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley sentenced Vincenzo Minutolo in Bridgeport federal court and ordered him to pay $244,612 in restitution. Minutolo pleaded guilty in February to two counts of wire fraud.
Between March 2020 and September 2021, Minutolo fraudulently obtained more than $145,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program by submitting false information for City Sounds Productions LLC, a company in which he claimed an ownership interest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Minutolo overstated the company’s yearly gross income, misrepresented whether he had applied for similar loans, and submitted fraudulent IRS tax filings and payment vouchers that were never filed with the agency. He also made false statements on loan forgiveness applications, claiming he complied with PPP requirements.
During the same period, Minutolo defrauded the state Department of Labor of more than $140,000 by filing fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance applications in others’ names, including people who had died and individuals who were unaware their information was being used.
One application was filed under the name of Minutolo’s grandfather, who died in 2014, and included a phone number associated with Minutolo. He continued making weekly online certifications falsely attesting that the information in his grandfather’s application and others’ applications was accurate in order to receive continued benefits, according to court documents.
The PPP was created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to provide forgivable loans to small businesses for payroll and other expenses during the pandemic. The program was overseen by the Small Business Administration, with individual loans issued through approved private lenders.
Minutolo was released on a $50,000 bond and must report to prison Jan. 22. He will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser prosecuted the case.
