Anchorage Man Convicted in Portland of COVID Relief Fraud Faces 20 Years in Prison

A Cameroonian national who lives in Anchorage, 64-year-old Peter Igwacho, faces a possible 20 years in prison after a federal jury in Portland found him guilty of Covid-19 relief-related wire fraud on Thursday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon indicated that during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, specifically between April 2020 and October 2021, Igwacho filed at least five fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

Both programs were designed to help small businesses facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the information Igwacho gave on the application forms was fraudulent.

While the applications he filed were on behalf of a sole proprietorship, it did not have actual business operations, payrolled employees, or the reported gross revenues, and Igwacho did not spend those funds on approved pandemic-related expenses. He spent the money on personal expenses.

A federal grand jury in Portland delivered a three-count superseding indictment charging Igwacho with wire fraud on July 23, last year. At his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for November 18 before a U.S. District Judge, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, plus three years of supervised release.