Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ATLANTA – Johnny Narcisse, and his cousin Johnson Dieujuste, have been sentenced to prison for their scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program of more than $2 million.
“These defendants brazenly stole funds from programs designed to help individuals and businesses suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for identifying and investigating these individuals which led to their successful prosecution.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, Jr., the charges and other information presented in court: In July 2021, federal agents investigating a Florida resident for suspected tax crimes obtained and executed a search warrant for the home, computer and cellular phone of Johnny Narcisse in Georgia. The search of the computer and phone revealed a large volume of evidence showing that Narcisse and his cousin, Johnson Dieujuste, had been engaged in an extensive conspiracy with each other to recruit small business owners and then file fraudulent applications for COVID-19 relief loans, including both PPP and EIDL loans, on their behalf.
Narcisse and Dieujuste, after obtaining the names, business names, and employer identification numbers from the would-be borrowers, simply invented the rest of the information needed to apply for the fraudulent loans. If the loan was approved, the borrowers kicked back a percentage of the loan proceeds to Narcisse and/or Dieujuste. Dozens of loans were applied for as part of the scheme, with over $2 million dispersed.
Johnny Narcisse, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross to two years, four months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000,332. Narcisse was convicted on October 21, 2024, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Johnson Dieujuste, 37, of Loganville, Georgia, was sentenced by Judge Ross on January 8, 2025, to two years, eight months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,081,559. Dieujuste was convicted on September 24, 2024, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In addition to their conspiracy to file fraudulent loan applications on behalf of others, the evidence showed that Narcisse and Diejuste each independently filed for fraudulent COVID-19 loans for themselves. Both men were held accountable for those loans as well during the sentencing process, and the losses that resulted from this additional conduct were included in each defendant’s restitution order.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S Attorney Alana R. Black, and Trial Attorneys Jennifer Bilinkas and David A. Peters of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.