A San Bernardino County man was arrested on federal charges for allegedly obtaining more than $800,000 in COVID-19 relief funds by hiding his prior criminal conviction. Justin Konikow, 38, of Ontario, faces a wire fraud charge and is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
According to court documents, Konikow applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) in April 2020 through a business called “Trendsetters,” listing himself as the sole owner. The application stated that neither he nor the business had ever been charged or convicted of a crime. However, records show that Konikow was convicted of mail fraud in January 2020 for defrauding government agencies out of more than $250,000 by filing false claims using synthetic identities and fake companies. He received a sentence of 35 months in prison and began serving it in February 2022.
Authorities allege that between 2021 and 2022, three modifications were submitted to increase the EIDL proceeds, each time certifying under penalty of perjury that all statements remained true and complete. None of these applications disclosed Konikow’s criminal history.
The Small Business Administration approved the original loan and subsequent modifications, ultimately wiring about $805,000 into Konikow’s account. Investigators say he then transferred significant amounts from this account to pay off personal debts and sent approximately $47,000 to his Robinhood trading account.
“A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
If found guilty, Konikow could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The investigation is being conducted by the SBA Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Gregg Marmaro is handling the prosecution.
“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 Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.”
