(Elyse S. Apel, The Center Square) A Shelby Township man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar pandemic relief fraud scheme, federal officials announced.
Samer Kammo, 46, was sentenced in Detroit by U.S. District Judge Jonathan J. C. Grey after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
Kammo and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for multiple businesses, falsifying payroll figures and certifying the funds would be used for legitimate business purposes.
Federal investigators said the group also submitted fictitious payroll, health insurance, banking and tax records to support the applications.
Kammo and members of his family received nearly $2.5 million in fraudulent PPP funds. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
“This defendant and his co-conspirators tried to cheat the system by exploiting a federal relief program meant to help Americans in need,” said Jennifer Runyan, the FBI special agent in charge of the case. “If you abuse government programs for personal gain, you will be found, and you will face serious consequences under the law.”
Jared Murphey, the HSI acting special agent in charge, said investigators remain committed to pursuing pandemic-era fraud.
“Although the pandemic is years behind us, HSI and our partners are committed to holding fraudsters accountable,” Murphey said. “By now the writing on the wall should be crystal clear, if you fraudulently obtained government funds during the pandemic, you will be held accountable.”
Court records show the conspirators used the personal identifying information of several of Kammo’s relatives, including his mother, to carry out the scheme.
As part of his sentence, Kammo was ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution. Co-defendant Rita Shaba previously received a 27-month prison sentence, while Kammo’s wife, Christina Anasi, awaits sentencing.
This is just one of many such cases of PPP and other COVID-19 era fraud that uncovered throughout the U.S. The fraud has largely been centered around several emergency relief programs in 2020 established by Congress to stabilize the economy in the midst of the pandemic.
Just in the PPP program, Congress authorized more than $800 billion through multiple rounds of funding – making it one of the largest small-business aid efforts in U.S. history.
Just in Michigan, there have been numerous cases uncovered, including:
- The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency paid about $11 billion in fraudulent claims from the start of COVID through 2022
- Macomb woman sentenced in January for her role in $3 million COVID PPP fraud scheme
- Michigan man sentenced in 2022 for approximately $230,000 in fraudulent COVID unemployment payments
- Ten people from Michigan sentenced in 2024 in a $4.9 million COVID unemployment scheme
