WILLIAMSPORT – A Tioga County businessman has been accused of using $420,000 of government COVID-19 relief funds to buy a house for he and his wife in Alabama.
Nicholas Perkins, 57 of Wellsboro, is charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday in U.S. Middle District Court with wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, bank fraud and making false loan applications.
According to the charges Perkins as owner of Well Versed Oilfield Services applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and in April 2020 received $465,786 from the Small Business Administration.
The PPP program was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act designed to provide emergency financial assistance to businesses during the pandemic.
Loan proceeds were authorized to be used for employee payrolls, mortgage interest, lease utilities expenses.
The indictment alleges Perkins did the following in 2020:
In May he signed a purchase agreement to buy a home on Dauphin Island in Alabama for approximately $850,000 and the following month he and his wife signed a mortgage loan application for $450,000.
On July 1 by writing two checks he transferred $420,000 from the PPP loan account to himself and then wire transferred that amount to the title company that handled the purchase of the home.
In December he submitted documentation to a bank that stated falsely the money was used for allowable costs. A month later the SBA provided the lender funds to forgive the loan.
The government seeks forfeiture of the Alabama home if Perkins is convicted.
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