United States of America v. William Freeman, IV

Scranton, Pennsylvania, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of making and subscribing a false tax return.

William Freeman, IV, age 46, of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, submitted at least 10 applications seeking pandemic stimulus funds through both the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on behalf of several entities under his control, including, Second Haven Services for Youth, Inc., Phoenix Behavioral Health Network, LLC, Pocono Wing Hut, LLC, and Legacy Group Real Estate Company. The applications submitted by Freeman were filed on behalf of corporate entities that did not, in fact, have actual business operations, and that bore false employee headcount information, fabricated gross revenues, and costs of goods sold. Freeman additionally made material misrepresentations on these applications about his criminal history, representing that he had none when, in fact, he did. Freeman obtained over $300,000 dollars in stimulus funds through filing the fraudulent applications, which he spent on unapproved personal expenses and was never repaid.

Additionally, and in support of that fraud, Freeman filed a falsified Form 1040 and a falsified W-3 in 2020 for the 2019 tax year claiming thousands of dollars in taxes that were withheld and paid over to the IRS which had never happened. In addition to his failure to pay over those taxes, he also attempted to obtain thousands of dollars of tax refund money. Freeman did this for the purpose of creating a filed tax return in an attempt to obtain additional stimulus funds.

The Department of Justice has created the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

In sentencing Freeman, the Court articulated its concerns with potential recidivism, noting Freeman’s evasive claims about past and present employment and fraudulent representations about his educational background.

“Today’s sentencing unequivocally affirms the gravity with which federal courts regard violations of the tax laws,” said Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office. “IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to uncovering the financial lies behind these schemes and holding accountable those who profit at the expense of the American taxpayers.”

The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Luisa Honora Berti prosecuted the case.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment on Count I and 30 months imprisonment on Count II, to run concurrently; 36 months supervised release. $100.00 special assessment on each count. Restitution of $352,155.00. No fine imposed.