A Stamford business owner has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for a Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme that involved more than $4 million in loans from M&T Bank and Citibank.
Moustapha Diakhate, 46, was sentenced yesterday in Hartford federal court to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement. Diakhate must also spend three months in home detention when he is released from prison and then perform 75 hours of community service while on supervised release.
According to the statement, Diakhate maintained an ownership or management interest in certain small business entities, including Ansonia Developers LLC, Winsbay Inc., Buyers Association Group LLC, Washington Management LLC, Diakhate Capital Inc. and Poulson & Gold Inc.
Beginning in May 2020, Diakhate provided Citibank and M&T Bank with false and fraudulent information during the PPP loan application process to obtain loans for each of his six entities, the statement said. The loans totaled more than $4 million.
Diakhate used a portion of the funds for personal expenses, the statement said, including to pay off a loan used to purchase a 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo and to purchase both a Mercedes and BMW. Prosecutors said Diakhate also purchased a $50,000 certificate of deposit with PPP funds and disbursed funds to individuals unrelated to his business entities.
Citibank and M&T Bank successfully recovered more than $2 million after discovering Diakhate’s fraud, the statement said. Diakhate has been ordered to pay restitution of about $1.7 million.
Diakhate was arrested in May 2021 and pleaded guilty in January to one count of wire fraud and one count of making an illegal monetary transaction. Diakhate is released on a $450,000 bond and must report to prison on Oct. 14.
