OKLAHOMA CITY MAN WHO RAN NONPROFIT INDICTED FOR TWO COUNTS OF BANK FRAUD

The following information was released by the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma:

An unsealed indictment shows that Victor Kensington Colbert, Jr., 60, owned and operated the nonprofit,

Oklahoma Heartland Heroes Foundation (Heartland Heroes), in Bixby.

The indictment alleges that Colbert submitted at least five applications on behalf of Heartland Heroes seeking CARES

Act funds. The CARES Act was signed into law in March 2020 and included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). These programs were established to support small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Of those applications, Colbert successfully obtained at least two PPP loans and one Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance, on behalf of Heartland Heroes,totaling approximately $217,000.

Colbert allegedly submitted false documentation showing that he has several employees with monthly payroll expenses exceeding $55,000. He further claimed that any funds he received would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll, pay mortgage interest or lease payments, utility payments, and other covered expenses.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve System is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Buscemi is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a

court of law.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division's prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.