Virginia Beach businessman pleads guilty to bank fraud

A Virginia Beach businessman who fraudulently obtained $350,000 i n emergency coronavirus aid after claiming he needed help keeping his business afloat during the pandemic pleaded guilty Wednesday to bank fraud.

Scott Suber entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, just three weeks after being charged. The crime carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison.

Sentencing was set for May 4 and Suber was allowed to remain free on bond until then.

Wh e n asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard if he was pleading guilty because he was guilty, the soft-spoken 39-year-old said, “Yes, sir.”

According to a statement of facts submitted as evidence, Suber obtained the loan through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program — one component of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act passed by Congress in March.

Through the act, Congress authorized the award of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses to help them continue paying employees during the pandemic, as well as pay expenses like rent and utilities.

Applications are submitted to participating banks, which provide the loan money and are then repaid by the Small Business Administration.

To qualify for the loans, a business had to be in operation by at least Feb. 15, the statement said.

Suber didn’t open a bank account for his Virginia Beach-based business — Debris or Not Debris Property Preservation — until April. The business offers numerous services, including debris and tree removal, landscaping, roofing, plumbing, flooring and carpentry, according to its website. Court documents didn’t indicate when it began operating.

Suber changed the date on Debris or Not Debris’ monthly bank statement from April to February to make it appear it had a bank account in February, then submitted it as part of his application, the statement said.

The application claimed he had eight employees and a monthly payroll of $140,000, which was false, the statement said. The business had no employees at the time.

A fabricated federal tax return for the fourth quarter of 2019 stated that the business had quarterly wages of $420,000 and federal tax withholding of $36,620.

Suber provided the information to second and third parties who then submitted the application to Celtic Bank on his behalf, the statement said.

Those people were not named in the court documents and have not been charged.

After the bank approved a $350,000 loan and wired the money to the business’s bank account, Suber began making large cash withdrawals, the statement said, using the money on himself and a trip to Las Vegas.

He also gave money to people he was directed to pay by the unidentified person who filed the paperwork, the statement said.

“He put his trust in the wrong people,” Suber’s attorney, Scott Hallauer said after the hearing. “And he’s taking responsibility for that now.”