A Boston resident, Lonnie Smith-Matthews, 33, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges including wire fraud, theft of government funds, bank fraud, and money laundering. Authorities allege that Smith-Matthews engaged in schemes to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and stole both a U.S. Treasury tax refund check and a check from a New York law firm.
According to the indictment, Smith-Matthews obtained two PPP loans in 2021 by falsely reporting business income of $128,000 despite not operating an actual business or earning that amount. In 2024, he is accused of depositing an altered $150,000 U.S. Treasury tax refund check originally issued to a North Carolina couple as their 2023 income tax refund. The check was allegedly forged to be payable to a clothing company previously owned by Smith-Matthews. After receiving these funds, prosecutors say he laundered the proceeds through cashier’s checks made out to what was described as a roofing company.
Later in 2024, authorities claim Smith-Matthews deposited another stolen and altered check worth $232,000 from a New York law firm into his defunct company’s account.
The charge of theft of government funds carries up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000. Wire fraud can result in up to 20 years’ imprisonment and similar fines; bank fraud may lead to up to 30 years behind bars with higher fines reaching $1 million; while money laundering carries potential penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines up to $500,000. Sentences are determined by federal judges based on sentencing guidelines and relevant statutes.
“U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Michael Carpenter, Special Agent in charge of the U.S. Dept. of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Northeast Field Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today.” “Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.”
“The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.”
