A man from California, Craig David Davis, 49, residing in Venice, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of Virginia. Davis confessed to defrauding multiple Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), of over $10 million.
Davis, the owner of Bright Vanguard LLC, falsely portrayed it as a legitimate computer hardware retailer and storage space provider. In 2020, he submitted fraudulent loan applications under these programs. Court documents reveal that Davis falsely claimed that Bright Vanguard had significant sales and employed up to 17 individuals. However, in reality, Bright Vanguard had no employees and did not generate any legitimate revenue. To support his false claims, Davis provided banks with falsified tax returns, payroll documents, and financial statements.
In addition to the CARES Act fraud, Davis also admitted to participating in a long-running scheme to defraud commercial equipment lenders. This scheme involved instructing business owners to submit loan applications for computer equipment purchases, backed by invoices from companies like Bright Vanguard. Despite lenders approving the loans and distributing funds, Davis and his co-conspirators kept a portion of the proceeds, while most was given to the borrowers. No equipment was actually provided, despite the fraudulent invoices, resulting in over $60 million in fraudulent lending across 350+ loans.
Davis is set for sentencing on December 12, 2024, and could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, who will consider U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The guilty plea announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. The investigation was led by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG) Mid-Atlantic Region, the Department of the Treasury’s Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David A. Peters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Drew Bradylyons and Katherine Robeson for the Eastern District of Virginia, with considerable support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
