A former Derry man has been sentenced to 34 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his part in a Covid-19 fraud scheme.
David Dodge, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro on Wednesday, May 29, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young.
Dodge claimed to own or control multiple businesses in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including Teacher Tammy (a/k/a Teacher Tammy’s), Optimized Operations, and Business Done Right. However, these companies had no operations and served no business purpose, according to the U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire.
The press release also says Dodge took the social security number of a minor to apply for a Employer Identification Number from the IRS for a fake company called Consulting Services.
Dodge used fake supporting documents in the applications, according to the press release.
Because the programs Dodge sought to defraud have safeguards in place, the majority of the money he requested was denied and the applications flagged for fraudulent behavior. Dodge did receive a payout of $219,323.34.
They misused the fraudulently obtained funds, including to purchase a hot tub and a diamond ring, according to the U.S. Attorney.
