Stoughton man pleads guilty to COVID-19 business relief loan fraud scheme

A Stoughton man has pleaded guilty to participation in a COVID-19 business relief loan fraud scheme that netted those involved over $220,000, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On Thursday, 41-year-old Patrick Joseph pleaded guilty to several fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.

Between April 2020 and April 2021, Joseph participated in a scheme that netted those involved over $220,000 through fraudulent COVID-19 paycheck protection business loan applications, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He and co-conspirator, 55-year-old Stoughton resident Yves Montima, submitted 12 fraudulent loan applications, both in their names and on behalf of others.

The fraudulent loan applications claimed non-existent independent contractor income that they substantiated through falsified tax documents, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. In addition to the money they got from the loans submitted in their own names, Joseph and Montima received kickback payments from the other people who benefited through their scheme.

Montima pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in November 2021, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. In September 2023, a federal judge sentenced him to three years of supervised release — with the first 10 months served in home confinement — and to pay $239,595 in restitution.

Joseph was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2021, and his sentencing is scheduled for June 20, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He faces decades in prison, over a decade of supervised release and over $1 million in fines and forfeiture.