Edward McCorkle, a 37-year-old resident of Baltimore County, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for submitting fraudulent loan applications under the CARES Act. The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, along with officials from the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and the Baltimore County Police Department.
The CARES Act was enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial support to Americans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It included programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), both administered through the Small Business Administration, aimed at helping small businesses retain employees and cover expenses.
According to court documents, McCorkle engaged in a scheme from May 2020 through February 2021 to defraud financial institutions including Cross River Bank and the SBA. He sought nearly $946,500 in loans for various businesses he claimed to own and successfully obtained $523,700. The funds were used for personal expenses, large cash withdrawals, and real estate purchases in Baltimore City.
On May 26, 2020, McCorkle and a co-conspirator submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application for Real Transitions LLC. The application falsely stated that the business employed 15 workers with an average monthly payroll of $98,600 in 2019. Supporting documents included fabricated IRS Form 941 tax returns that misrepresented employment and tax withholding information.
"McCorkle agreed to pay his co-conspirator a kickback payment for helping submit the false application and obtaining the fraudulent PPP loan. After McCorkle received the PPP loan funds, he provided his co-conspirator with a check in the amount of $49,300, exactly 20 percent of the PPP loan amount."
After receiving approximately $246,500 from Cross River Bank into an account he controlled at Municipal Employees Credit Union (MECU), McCorkle paid his co-conspirator a kickback equal to one-fifth of the loan amount. He also used these funds on unauthorized purposes such as buying real estate in Baltimore City and making significant cash withdrawals.
"McCorkle also admitted that he obtained more than $227,000 in EIDL funds for a purported business and used those funds for multiple impermissible purposes under the EIDL program. He used loan proceeds to make mortgage payments for McCorkle’s primary residence, purchases at restaurants and retail stores, and payments to relatives, associates, and co-conspirators."
By October 1 following several months of transactions—including bank checks payable directly to himself—the account balance had dropped significantly.
McCorkle faces up to 20 years in federal prison followed by up to three years supervised release; sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett on January 27, 2026.
The District of Maryland Strike Force is part of five teams established nationwide by the Department of Justice targeting COVID-19 relief fraud schemes involving criminal organizations or transnational actors using data-driven investigations (https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus). The strike forces are interagency efforts led by prosecutors aiming to recover stolen pandemic relief funds.
Individuals with information about attempted COVID-19 fraud can contact authorities via hotline or online form (https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form).
Kelly O. Hayes commended law enforcement agencies involved in this case as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Paul E. Budlow who prosecuted it.
Further details about reporting fraud or resources available can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
