HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Hawaii resident indicted on charges of filing $458,597 in fraudulent COVID relief claims pleaded guilty to several counts in federal court in Honolulu on Monday.
Justin Craige Likout, 51, admitted to a total of eight counts of bank and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was indicted on 24 counts in October.
Court documents allege Likout stole the identities of two people in order to secure business loans.
He is also accused of establishing businesses to submit fraudulent claims through the Paycheck Protection Program during pandemic shutdowns.
The wire fraud charges also include allegations that Likout accepted money for tables and other items sold on Facebook Marketplace that were never delivered to buyers.
According to the indictment, Likout used multiple aliases to commit the crimes, including “Jaycee Thorpe,” “JC Thorpe,” “Justin Thorpe,” “John…
This type of fraud targets the supply chain and accounts payable departments of businesses.
- Invoice Manipulation: Criminals intercept a legitimate invoice between a supplier and a client and change the banking details to their own. The client pays the bill thinking they are paying their trusted vendor.
- Kickbacks and Bribery: A vendor secretly pays an employee of the purchasing company to ensure their bid is successful or to overlook inflated pricing.