A Maryland man pleaded guilty to bank fraud and obstruction of justice on Apr. 22, the first day of his federal trial in Baltimore, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.
Eric Tano Tataw, 39, of Gaithersburg admitted to defrauding a financial institution and the U.S. Small Business Administration by submitting false information for Paycheck Protection Program loans and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also admitted attempting to obstruct justice by providing fake documents to a grand-jury witness and instructing her to present them as evidence.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced Tataw's plea along with representatives from Homeland Security Investigations, Diplomatic Security Service, and FBI Baltimore Field Office. "Tataw then met Witness 1 at a Landover, Maryland laundromat where he gave the witness false earnings statements that purported to represent a salary National Telegraph paid her through 2021," according to details provided in court documents.
According to prosecutors, Tataw inflated employee numbers and payroll figures on loan applications for his company National Telegraph LLC between April 2020 and May 2021. He submitted fraudulent earning statements for individuals who did not work at his company—including one named witness—and provided false tax documents as part of his applications. Prosecutors said he received $163,302 in PPP funds which were mostly spent on personal expenses; he also attempted but failed to secure an additional $150,000 EIDL loan by overstating business revenues.
Tataw faces up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud; actual sentences are typically less than maximum penalties under federal guidelines. In addition, Tataw is facing separate charges related to allegedly supporting armed separatist groups in Cameroon—a case that remains pending.
The case was investigated by members of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), which includes agents from several federal agencies working together against criminal organizations operating domestically and internationally.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland employs over 200 personnel across its civil, criminal and administrative divisions according to its official website. The office serves nearly six million residents across Maryland according to its official website and prosecutes federal crimes while handling civil cases for the government according to its official website. It partners with law enforcement agencies throughout Maryland with roots dating back more than two centuries according to its official website.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended investigators from HSI, DSS, FBI as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Wenner and Philip Motsay who prosecuted this case.
