A federal judge sentenced a Wayne County man to more than 12 years in prison for bank fraud and other charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania says 36-year-old Christopher J. Miller of Newfoundland scammed the government out of $2.1 million in pandemic stimulus funds.
Miller allegedly filed 50 fraudulent applications for unemployment assistance benefits, small business loans and disaster loans. Those federal programs fell under COVID-19 relief funds.
The applications included fake corporate entities with inaccurate addresses and bogus Employee Identification Numbers, according to prosecutors. Miller spent the money on cars, vacations and real estate, they said.
Then, he fled to South Carolina with his wife and assumed a new identity. The federal court sentenced Miller Friday to 149 months in prison and five years supervised release.