Idaho task force finds three Treasure Valley residents guilty of COVID-19 relief fraud [The Idaho Statesman]

Three Treasure Valley residents were found guilty of fraud related to COVID-19 relief programs. Several others were also convicted.

Idaho’s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit, created a task force a year ago to investigate abuses of pandemic-era economic aid programs like the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan, Unemployment Insurance and Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Hurwit said in a news release Wednesday that the task force has now criminally charged a dozen defendants and obtained civil judgments against three others. The amount of fraud involved involved in the cases is over $7 million, he said.

According to the release, among those convicted are:

1. Lawrence Sikutwa

Sikutwa, 43, of Boise, who was found guilty of bank fraud and money laundering.

According to court documents, he filed three fraudulent applications and obtained about $347,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans from two banks using the identities of two people he knew. Sikutwa used the money for personal and non-business related expenses and transferred more than $190,000 of it to offshore accounts, the release said.

He was sentenced on Sept. 25 to 30 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

In 2013, when Sikutwa was 34, he was found guilty of submitting false tax returns for a refund, according to a news release at the time from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho. Federal judge Lynn Winmill sentenced him to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Sikutwa was also ordered to pay $1.47 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

2. Valentin Lapatskiy

Lapatskiy, 34, of Meridian, was convicted of wire fraud.

He filed fraudulent applications for two businesses and obtained $300,000 from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program by making false claims regarding the businesses’ gross revenues, cost of goods sold and employees.

Lapatskiy is the president of Valdi Homes, a Meridian construction company, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s website. The release said he also made fraudulent claims about a limousine company in his wife’s name.

He was sentenced on Sept. 26 to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release.

3. Patricia Pischel

Pischel, 38, of Star, pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

She made false claims about three businesses to obtain five loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, adding up to $219,409. The fraudulent claims include misrepresenting the number of employees, monthly payroll and wage information included in purported Internal Revenue Service forms. Pischel’s sentencing is set for Nov. 15.

Pischel owns Rustic Farmhouse, based in Star. She also owned a business called Rekkd Threads, but it was dissolved nearly a year ago, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s website.

“We will not rest until we have done everything in our power to seek justice against those who took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to line their pockets through fraud,” Hurwit said.

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