California Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding CARES Act Programs and Commercial Lenders

A California man, Craig David Davis, 49, of Venice, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of Virginia. Davis admitted 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 more than $10 million.

Davis, the owner of Bright Vanguard LLC, which he falsely presented as a legitimate computer hardware retailer and storage space provider, submitted fraudulent loan applications under these programs in 2020. According to court documents, Davis falsely claimed that Bright Vanguard had substantial sales and employed as many as 17 individuals. In reality, Bright Vanguard had no employees and generated no legitimate revenue. To support his fraudulent claims, Davis provided banks with falsified tax returns, payroll documents, and financial statements.

In addition to the CARES Act fraud, Davis also confessed to his involvement in a years-long scheme to defraud commercial equipment lenders. This scheme involved directing business owners to submit loan applications for purchasing computer equipment, supported by invoices from companies like Bright Vanguard. After the lenders approved the loans and disbursed the funds, Davis and his co-conspirators kept a portion of the proceeds while remitting the majority to the borrowers. No equipment was actually provided, despite what was shown on the fraudulent invoices. This scheme resulted in over $60 million in fraudulently induced lending across more than 350 separate loans.

Davis is scheduled for sentencing on December 12, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The announcement of Davis’s guilty plea was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’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 substantial assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.