SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced that Brian J. Albelli, 46, from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, received a sentence of 48 months in prison on June 23, 2025. This follows his convictions for wire fraud and money laundering.
Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus stated that Albelli submitted around 20 fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds through programs such as the Payment Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs). These applications were filed under various business entities controlled by him and his family, with himself, his wife, and his parents listed as signatories. Some of these corporate entities had no actual business operations.
Albelli's fraudulent activities secured over $2.2 million in pandemic stimulus funds. Instead of using the funds for legitimate business expenses, Albelli spent them on personal items like automobiles, a boat, and casino withdrawals. A significant portion of the loan proceeds was funneled through an account held by Outbreak Assets LLC—a company created by Albelli solely to receive fraudulent proceeds—before being used for personal expenditures.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Albelli to three years of supervised release post-imprisonment. He is also required to pay full restitution amounting to $2,232,077 and must forfeit numerous assets seized during investigations including bank account funds, two vehicles, and jewelry.
The PPP and EIDL programs were part of the CARES Act enacted in March 2020 to support small businesses financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP offered forgivable loans contingent upon criteria like employee payroll use while EIDL provided low-interest loans designated for specific business expenses.
The case against Albelli was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service with Assistant United States Attorney Kyle A. Moreno prosecuting.
On May 17, 2021, a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established by the Attorney General to combat pandemic-related frauds by leveraging resources across government agencies.
