A California financial executive has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison after being found guilty of stealing millions in federal Covid-19 relief funds. Abraham Park, a 67-year-old from La Mirada, masterminded a scheme that abused a government program meant to help struggling small businesses during the pandemic. Instead of offering legitimate help, Abraham Park orchestrated a widespread fraud that led to the loss of nearly $7 million in taxpayer money.
Massive Fraud During the Pandemic
From March 2020 to October 2022, Abraham Park submitted over 120 fake loan applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This program was created to support real businesses in crisis, but Park exploited it for personal profit.
Abraham Park was the owner and CEO of a financial services company in California. His business helped clients obtain loans and improve their credit. After the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Park advised clients to create fake business entities so he could submit fraudulent EIDL applications on their behalf. Once the loans were approved, he took a portion of the money as a kickback.
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The scheme went even further. Abraham Park didn’t stop at helping clients commit fraud—he also submitted applications for himself and his family members, all based on fake companies. In total, 73 of the fraudulent loan applications were approved, causing a loss of nearly $7 million to the SBA. The total damage from both approved and unapproved loans reached over $12 million.
Kickbacks and Fake Companies
Many of Abraham Park’s clients trusted him to guide them through the loan process. Instead, he led them into illegal activity. He created fake documents, fake business details, and coached others to do the same. These actions not only hurt the government but also put his clients at legal risk.
In return for his help in the fraud, Abraham Park demanded a portion of the loan money once it was paid out. He even prepared and filed applications using fake details for his relatives. The stolen funds, which came from emergency federal aid, were intended to save small businesses, not enrich individuals committing fraud.
In March 2025, Abraham Park pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He has now been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. In addition to the prison term, Park must repay $6,993,700 in restitution and surrender $535,041 in forfeited assets gained through the scam.
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Federal Agencies Step In
The case was investigated by multiple federal agencies, including the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), led by Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, under Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis. The SBA Office of Inspector General, with Western Region Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Huang, also played a key role in uncovering the fraud.
The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brandon Burkart and Andrew Jaco of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s broader efforts to hold accountable those who misused pandemic relief programs. Since the CARES Act began, the Fraud Section has prosecuted more than 200 individuals in over 130 cases, recovering over $78 million in fraudulently obtained funds—as well as real estate and luxury goods bought with stolen money.