Maryland Man Admits to Stealing $160,000 in COVID-19 Relief Funds and Obstructing Justice

A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to bank fraud on the first day of his federal trial, admitting to obtaining over $160,000 in COVID-19 relief funds through fraudulent means and subsequently attempting to obstruct justice. Eric Tano Tataw, 39, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, entered his guilty plea concerning multiple fraudulent loan applications submitted for his company, National Telegraph, LLC. His admission includes providing false documents to a grand jury witness and instructing her to present them to investigators.

According to the plea agreement, Tataw initiated a scheme to defraud a financial institution and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) between April 2020 and May 2021. He sought two fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for his business by making material misrepresentations on the applications. These false statements included inflating the number of employees and the company’s monthly payroll expenses. To further support his applications, Tataw also submitted falsified earning statements for individuals who were not employees of National Telegraph, as well as fraudulent tax documents. This fraudulent activity resulted in Tataw obtaining $163,302 in PPP funding, a significant portion of which he used for personal expenses. In addition to the PPP loans, Tataw also applied for a fraudulent $150,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the SBA in October 2020, again providing inflated figures for National Telegraph’s annual gross and net revenue. Collectively, Tataw intended to defraud the government of approximately $313,302, successfully acquiring about $163,302 of that amount.

The obstruction of justice charge stems from events in August 2023, when law enforcement served a federal grand jury subpoena on a witness identified as Witness 1. The subpoena requested records pertaining to Tataw, his spouse, and National Telegraph. Tataw then met with Witness 1 at a laundromat in Landover, Maryland. During this meeting, he provided Witness 1 with fabricated earning statements, purporting to show a salary paid by National Telegraph through 2021. He then instructed Witness 1 to submit these false documents to the grand jury and to testify that she had been an employee of the company during 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, Tataw supplied Witness 1 with a blank W-2 form and advised her to amend her tax filings falsely, indicating she had received wages from National Telegraph. These actions were intended to impede the grand jury proceedings.

Tataw faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for the bank fraud conviction. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant statutory factors. It is important for the public to understand that actual federal prison sentences are often less than the maximum penalties.

In a separate matter, Tataw is also facing an indictment on charges of conspiring to provide material support to armed separatist groups in Cameroon and making threats to kidnap or injure Cameroonian civilians. This case remains pending.

The investigation was a collaborative effort involving Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland

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