Wheatland man sentenced for COVID-19 relief fraud

SACRAMENTO, California — Jason Toland, a 44-year-old from Wheatland, has been sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison for submitting false claims related to COVID-19 pandemic tax credits, according to U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. Toland was also ordered to pay $2,078,462 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Toland attempted to obtain more than $13.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds by filing false tax returns with the IRS, seeking refunds for the Employee Retention Credit and the COVID Sick and Family Leave Credit, according to court documents. He used shell companies with no real employees or business activity to seek over $11 million in tax refunds to which he was not entitled. Between 2020 and 2023, Toland fraudulently obtained more than $1.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.

Of the more than $13.4 million sought through false tax returns and fraudulent loan applications, Toland successfully obtained over $1.95 million, which he used for personal enrichment. “The COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force continues to pursue pandemic fraud, including the abuse of tax credits for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Today’s sentence demonstrates that false claims targeting credits meant for real businesses suffering real consequences of the pandemic will be identified and prosecuted.”…

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