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Feds claim trucking company owner bought house, cars with PPP loan

Feds claim McConnell used some PPP funds for stock market investments

Trucking company owner Keith McConnell, 43, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is facing wire fraud and money laundering charges after prosecutors claim he used PPP funds for personal use. Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

The owner of a Pennsylvania trucking company is facing wire fraud and money laundering charges after federal prosecutors claim he used $467,000 in funds obtained through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to purchase a residential property, two vehicles and stock market investments.

Federal prosecutors claim Keith McConnell, 43, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications and forged documents on behalf of his defunct Carlisle-based trucking company, KB Transportation LLC, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday.

Atlanta-based Kabbage Inc. approved McConnell’s first PPP loan application for $312,000 in June 2020. McConnell claimed his trucking company had 26 employees and had monthly payroll expenses of nearly $125,000. However, prosecutors claim McConnell’s trucking company didn’t operate in 2019 or 2020 and had no employees or payroll expenses.

After receiving his PPP loan, prosecutors allege he went on a personal spending spree, purchasing a house, two vehicles and investing in the stock market.

“Covid relief fraud is a high priority for our office and the Department of Justice,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler said. “These funds were meant to help small businesses survive the pandemic, not for fraudsters to support an opulent lifestyle.”

Seven months after receiving his first round of PPP funds, McConnell applied for a second loan for $155,200 in January 2021. However, those funds were never disbursed, according to the DOJ. 


McConnell faces up to 30 years in prison.

Forgivable loans through the PPP, administered by the Small Business Administration, started out with $350 billion in the CARES Act signed by former President Donald Trump in late March 2020 and were reupped in April 2020 with an additional $320 billion. The third round of funding, $284 billion in forgivable PPP loans through the SBA, opened up to lenders in January. 

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Click for more articles by Clarissa Hawes.

16 Comments

  1. David Skipper

    If the right people are reading, my neighbors grand kid falsified records and got a $10k ppp and promptly bought guns with it, solicited my tenant to buy them, which is how I learned a delinquent 20 something did the fraud. I am looking to sba for help and welcome yours getting g him prosecuted.

  2. Philip Anderson

    We my never shut down but but we do heavy equipment to maintain and other expenses I’m not like all those that have fortunately taken the money and ran and bought expensive cars and houses the small truck driver would put his money towards payroll but unfortunately me anyway small black man with a business can’t even get a little help from the government PPP do the right thing

  3. Rosa Rhodes

    I don’t understand why they Government give pp loans to self employed truck driver when they never shut down. Ports and other warehouse business that transport food and containers haulers never stop l.look in to that.

  4. Jennifer

    Upon looking at the list in our city there are over 20 names I recognize that are either living in income based apartment without business and there are just names of people using and address and their spouses using and address and doesn’t own a business. I just recently found out of such a loan. I am 53 years of age and have never been unemployed up until November after 34 years of working and severance pay. Didn’t know that I could have been getting unemployment compensation. Several names on the list haven’t worked a day in their life. How is it possible for them to get a loan of thousands of dollars and ask for forgiveness of a business they don’t own and not pay a single penny back. Not fair to taxpayers.

  5. Tamesha

    How do u get money from your employment when u worked doin this hole pandemic and knowin that your employment took out a ppp loan and he haven’t gave any of his employees any money

  6. Maritza Wyche

    Actual small businesses like me using my personal funds to keep my employees were denied 3 times and then told they were out of money. Because you guys were too busy approving fraudulent applications.

    1. TOYLIA

      I agree. The real small business can’t even get $5. When fake business are taking in money. The process should have been handled better. I had to let my employee go because I could no longer pay her. It’s so sad and so unfair.

  7. Stacy Degannes

    I think when people get the funding money they goes crazy money spending. However, they forgot their poor employees, which has family to take care off, and maybe through the feds off they might give the employee a little something. I see this for a fact.

    1. James Beaman

      this piece of garbage along with Marc Kelly in Arizona received millions of dollars in PPP funding while we little business owners had to do without because the answers to us were they were out of funding so we had to close our restaurant doors and we can no longer afford to operate and hire qualified people because these people were stealing from taxpayers that needed the money for their business

Comments are closed.

Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 16 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to [email protected].