U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref | U.S. Department of Justice
On December 5, 2024, Tyler Keith Andrews from Russellville, Arkansas, was sentenced to over 16 years in federal prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $16 million in COVID-19 relief funds. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice also ordered three years of supervised release and restitution of $16,330,814.30 to the Small Business Administration (SBA), along with forfeiture of $4,300,474.75.
The scheme involved submitting false loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program established by the CARES Act to support small businesses during the pandemic. Between June 2020 and May 2022, Andrews facilitated numerous fraudulent EIDL applications on behalf of co-conspirators and charged them a fee for his services.
Andrews also submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications for his own companies including Andrews Associates Inc., Texas Oil and Gas Express Inc., Total Logistic Solutions, among others. He misrepresented business details such as payroll and revenue to secure funding totaling at least $3,253,541 for his enterprises.
In July 2023, after being initially released pending trial following an indictment in the Western District of Arkansas for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft related to attempting to flee the U.S., Andrews was re-arrested.
U.S. Attorney Waldref stated that "Mr. Andrews developed a fraudulent scheme" depriving struggling businesses of needed funds during a global crisis while enriching himself through illicit means. Gregory L. Austin from the FBI highlighted that despite efforts to conceal his actions, investigators were able to dismantle his scheme.
Weston King from SBA OIG emphasized their commitment to protecting SBA programs' integrity against exploitation for personal gain which undermines public trust.
This case was part of efforts by the Eastern District of Washington's COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force involving multiple agencies like FBI and SBA OIG among others working together since February 2022 to combat fraud against COVID-19 relief programs.
Assistant United States Attorney Dan Fruchter prosecuted this case with assistance from various law enforcement agencies including those within Eastern Washington’s Strike Force as well as cooperation from entities like Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and U.S Attorney’s Office for Western District of Arkansas.
