Scammer applied for assistance under 19 different identities, prosecutors said
A Delaware County man was convicted last week in federal court of 22 counts of fraud and related charges for defrauding the government of more than $8 million intended for pandemic relief.
United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Francis J. Battista, 39, of Aston, was convicted at trial on all charges against him — 12 counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and seven counts of money laundering — for defrauding federal COVID-19 assistance programs of $8.4 million. United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond remanded the defendant into custody following the verdict on Friday, Jan. 31.
Battista was charged by indictment with these offenses in June 2022.
Between March 2020 and June 2021, the defendant fraudulently applied for 19 loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, seeking over $10 million in proceeds. PPP and EIDL were federal government programs intended to provide emergency financial assistance to small businesses and their workers, who were suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Battista applied for one fraudulent PPP loan using his own name, and submitted fake and fabricated documents in support of the application. For the rest of his applications, he used other people’s names and personal identifying information on applications and the bogus support documents submitted in support of those applications. In one instance, Battista falsely renewed the Pennsylvania photo ID card of a deceased family friend, had it mailed to his house, and then used it to apply for a PPP loan.
Nine of Battista’s 19 loan applications were funded, with the defendant receiving $8.4 million in PPP payments. Battista used the proceeds of the loans to attempt to purchase waterfront property in Florida, buy a Range Rover, engage in risky stock trading that resulted in millions of dollars of losses, and pay for his children’s private school, among other unauthorized expenses.
The government has located and seized $6.3 million of those funds through forfeiture proceedings.
Battista will be sentenced on a date to be determined and faces a maximum possible sentence of 316 years in prison.
