The owner of a Boston-area pizzeria chain, Stash’s Pizza, has admitted to providing false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to secure a loan for a business he no longer owned. Stavros Papantoniadis, also known as Steve Papantoniadis, 49, from Westwood, pleaded guilty to one count of false statements. The sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley. Papantoniadis has been in custody since his arrest on March 16, 2023.
Papantoniadis sold his Randolph, Massachusetts pizzeria in April 2021 and the Secretary of State canceled the associated limited liability company. However, between November 2021 and January 2022, he applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the SBA meant for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his application, Papantoniadis falsely claimed ownership of the Randolph location and reported having 18 employees there despite selling it months prior. This led to the SBA approving a $499,900 loan based on these misrepresentations.
In June 2024, Papantoniadis was convicted on charges related to forced labor involving five men and one woman whom he coerced through physical abuse and threats of deportation. He received a sentence of 102 months in prison with an additional year of supervised release and was fined $35,000 in October 2024.
The charge for false statements carries a potential penalty of up to five years imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine reaching $250,000. Sentencing decisions are made according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol from Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Jonathan Mellone from the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General announced this development today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy E. Moran and Brian A. Fogerty are handling prosecution duties.
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established on May 17, 2021, by the Attorney General to combat pandemic-related frauds more effectively across various governmental agencies.
For more details on fraud prevention efforts or to report attempted COVID-19 frauds, visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus or contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline.