Man who fraudulently gained COVID relief money gets prison

Also has to pay back $100,000 for false statements

A Connecticut man was sentenced to two years in prison for offenses stemming from his receipt of COVID-19 relief funds, according to federal authorities.

John Matava, 60, of Coventry, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in

Bridgeport to three years of supervised release, according to federal authorities. Dooley also ordered Matava to pay restitution of $100,000.

Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said that Matava applied to Celtic Bank for a $100,000 PPP loan for J.M. Builders LLC in April 2020. Authorities said the application “included several false representations, including that J.M. Builders LLC had eight employees and an average monthly payroll of $40,000; that the monies would be used for payroll, lease, mortgage, interest, and utilities; and that the business owner was not subject to pending formal criminal charges.”

However, when the PPP loan application was made, there were “no records of payroll or employees with the Connecticut Department of Labor for J.M. Builders LLC, and Matava was subject to criminal charges in two pending cases related to arrests in 2017 and 2018,” authorities said.

Celtic Bank in 2020 “disbursed $100,000 to a bank account for J.M. Builders LLC on which Matava was the signatory,” and “between April 2020 and January 2021, Matava used the funds primarily for personal expenditures, including $3,498 to pay a dog breeder, $4,777 for payments to an RV superstore in Connecticut, and legal fees, including a $2,000 retainer, for four court cases in Rockville,” authorities said in a statement.

Matava then sought $100,000 in additional PPP funds from Celtic Bank in 2021, and “included with the application several additional false statements and fraudulent tax documents,” authorities said. Celtic Bank denied the application.

Matava was arrested in January 2023 and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of making an illegal monetary transaction in 2024, authorities said.

Matava is free on a $60,000 bond, and in home detention. He is required to report to prison on May 13.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation.

Anyone with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-7205721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: www. justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ ncdf-disaster-complaintform.