Two days after a former Alabama sheriff pleaded guilty to lying on a loan application to get money for his gambling debts, his business partner is facing federal charges of defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program.
Danny Lee Baird, Jr., a business partner of former Clark County Sheriff William “Ray” Norris From PPP and with nine counts of false statements to the Federal Securities Depository in connection with other loans.
Some of the charges against Beard were replaced with wire fraud, according to a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Mobile on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege Beard lied about $74,207 each in two PPP loan applications, claiming he was paying payroll taxes to all of his employees.
On the second loan, Beard used the money for “personal expenses unrelated to payroll, rent/mortgage interest, utilities and covered operating expenses.”
Beard also filed an application to have the original PPP loan forgiven, which was “fraudulently obtained”.
Norris’ business partner also lied to the Camden City County National Bank, saying he owned equipment and didn’t try to sell the Tractor-Teller while taking out more than $50,000 in business loans.
Former Clark County Sheriff Norris, who was federally indicted earlier this year on four felony charges in the Southern District of Alabama, pleaded guilty Tuesday to making false statements to a federally secured facility.
