Ithaca man sentenced to 2 years for pandemic loan fraud

ITHACA, N.Y. (WETM) – An Ithaca man has been sentenced to time in federal prison after being found guilty of pandemic loan fraud charges.

As reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ejembi Onah, 61, was sentenced to two years in prison on two counts of bank fraud and three counts of transactions in criminally obtained property. He was also ordered to serve a two-year term of supervised release after his release from prison and pay $218,983.32 in restitution to his victims.

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During his non-jury trial in October 2023, government evidence revealed that Onah had received two Paycheck Program loans during the pandemic after submitting two fraudulent PPP loan applications to two different lenders in June 2020.

Each of the applications submitted by Onah contained false information about the payroll and number of employees at his company, which he claimed was involved in nanotechnology and was supported by falsified tax returns.

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As a result, Onah received more than $140,000, which was spent in three separate transactions of more than $10,000. These transactions include paying back the rent on his house, leasing a luxury car, and paying his daily living expenses.

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