December 19, 2020 at 12:03 AM
NEWTON, NJ- A Newton man was picked up on fraud charges before he could carry out his planned escape to Pakistan. According to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, 30-year-old Azhar Sarwar Rana, faced Judge James B. Clark III on Wednesday, charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.
Rana was arrested on December 12 after booking a same day flight out of the country Carpenito said. Court documents and statements made in court show Rana submitted a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loan application that got him more than $5 million.
The loan application had false payroll and tax information including not having paid wages in 2019 and the minimal wages he paid in 2020 were to people whose names did not match the social security numbers they submitted.