A former professional basketball player admitted to committing $272,774 worth of fraud involving pandemic aid programs on Wednesday. Lorenzo Gordon, 41, from Chesterfield, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of theft of government money.
As part of his plea agreement, Gordon acknowledged fraudulently applying for two loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and three from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. Both programs were designed to help businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gordon’s loan applications contained false information about three companies: Logo Fitness LLC, Elite 50 Basketball Training LLC, and Elite Health and Fitness Company LLC. According to his plea, Gordon received a total of $107,074 in PPP loans and $165,700 in EIDL loans and advances through fraudulent means.
Gordon is scheduled for sentencing on January 9, 2025. The theft charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke is prosecuting it.
Anyone with information about pandemic fraud is encouraged to call the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or report via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
