Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Boston resident has admitted to federal charges related to fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and stealing checks, including a U.S. Treasury tax refund and a check from a New York law firm.
Lonnie Smith-Matthews, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government funds, two counts of bank fraud, and two counts of money laundering. The plea was entered before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper, who scheduled sentencing for March 19, 2026.
Smith-Matthews was arrested in June 2025 as part of a broader federal effort targeting stolen U.S. Treasury checks. He was indicted in September 2025.
According to court documents, Smith-Matthews secured two PPP loans in 2021 by falsely claiming business income of $128,000. In reality, he earned less than half that amount and did not operate an actual business. In 2024, he deposited a forged $150,000 U.S. Treasury tax refund check made out to his defunct clothing company; the original check had been issued as a tax refund to a married couple in North Carolina for their 2023 taxes. After depositing the check, Smith-Matthews laundered the funds through cashier’s checks addressed to a purported roofing company.
Also in 2024, Smith-Matthews deposited a $232,000 check stolen from a New York law firm after altering it to be payable to his closed business.
The charge of theft of government funds carries up to ten years in prison and fines up to $250,000. Wire fraud is punishable by up to twenty years in prison and similar fines; bank fraud carries up to thirty years imprisonment and fines up to $1 million; money laundering can result in up to twenty years behind bars and fines reaching $500,000. Sentencing will be determined according to federal guidelines.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Christopher J. Gust, Assistant Special Agent in charge of the U.S. Dept. of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Northeast Field Division; and Nicholas Bucciarelli, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today.” “Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.”
