A former Oklahoma resident with business connections in Florida has been sentenced for bank fraud related to the misuse of CARES Act funds. U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson announced that Shawn Ray Murnan, 57, from Windemere, Florida, received a sentence of 33 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Additionally, U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill ordered Murnan to pay $1,641,796.47 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
“In 2020, the CARES Act funding was established to provide emergency financial assistance to help businesses that were disrupted,” stated U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Investigators and prosecutors are committed to finding those like Murnan who steal government funding and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law.”
Murnan admitted to falsifying several applications for CARES Act funds between April 2020 and October 2021. He owned multiple business ventures across Oklahoma, Florida, and other states and submitted 14 applications on behalf of these businesses, including Blujett, LLC in Broken Arrow. His applications falsely claimed several employees and payroll expenses.
Murnan requested over two million dollars through these fraudulent applications and successfully obtained $1,641,796.47 from seven Paycheck Protection Program loans and two Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Following receipt of these funds, he applied for loan forgiveness.
Previously released on bond before his sentencing today, Murnan is now in custody awaiting transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Office of Inspector General for the Small Business Administration; and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Whipple led the prosecution.
The Fraud Section is responsible for prosecuting schemes exploiting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the CARES Act’s inception, they have prosecuted over 150 defendants across more than 95 criminal cases and seized over $75 million in cash proceeds from fraudulently obtained PPP funds along with real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds.
More information is available at Justice.gov/OPA/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.
