Roy Lane, a 44-year-old resident of St. David, Arizona, has been sentenced to four years in prison for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funds and committing tax fraud. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker on Tuesday. Lane will also face three years of supervised release following his prison term and has been ordered to pay $856,692.91 in restitution to the United States.
Lane pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false claim. According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, he engaged in fraudulent activities to create the illusion of running several businesses. He did this by filing paperwork with the IRS, applying for a business license from the City of Tucson, opening business bank accounts, and submitting false employment-related tax returns.
In April 2020, Lane applied for a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration, falsely claiming his "wholesale" business had 17 employees and revenue exceeding half a million dollars annually. In 2021, he submitted another false application for a Paycheck Protection Act loan, wrongly stating that the same business employed 31 people and generated $1.2 million in revenue. These false claims resulted in Lane receiving over $300,000 in COVID-19 relief loans to which he was not entitled.
Additionally, Lane used personal information from other individuals to file fake tax refund claims with the IRS, seeking over $7.4 million. Of this amount, the IRS disbursed more than $590,000 in refunds based on these false claims.
The IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Matthew R. Hoffman of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Sue Feldmeier, from the District of Arizona in Tucson.