Collin County man sentenced for $1.5 million PPP COVID-19 fraud scheme

A 45-year-old Collin County man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for a COVID-19 fraud scheme to get more than $3.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Fahad Shah was sentenced to 31 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to wire fraud.

According to court documents, Shah tried to get $3.3 million in PPP funds by claiming that his business, WBF Weddings by Farah Inc., paid millions of dollars to its more than 100 employees, but WBF only had Shah and his wife as employees.

A Small Business Administration lender gave Shah more than $1.5 million in PPP loan funds, which Shah reportedly used for personal items.

Court documents show that Shah used the money to pay off his home mortgage and buy two Teslas and a Mercedes, along with other items.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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