PORTLAND — A Norway man who stole more than $243,000 through the federal Paycheck Protection Program aimed at propping up businesses during the pandemic was sentenced Friday to two years in prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torresen also imposed three years of supervised release on 52-year-old Merton Weed Jr. and ordered him to pay $253,646 in restitution.
From May 2020 to January 2021, Weed filed eight fraudulent loan applications through the federal program with four different lenders and received a total of $243,745 in PPP funds, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Green said.
“Weed exploited a once-in-a-century, international health emergency to enrich himself through fraud. The fraud was egregious. Weed’s many loan applications were complete works of fiction. He made up employees, payrolls, and documents from whole cloth to steal public funds,” according to Green.
Weed had no business taking the money because he had no business, “literally,” Green said Friday.
He noted that the mean family household income in Oxford County at the time of the fraud was $54,000.
Green said Weed’s history of other fraudulent activity spanned decades, but added that those criminal convictions apparently hadn’t served as a deterrent.
He told the judge “it’s imperative” that those who are caught defrauding the federal government “pay a price.”
Green urged the judge to impose the maximum 27-month sentence under federal guidelines.
Luke Rioux, Weed’s attorney, sought a sentence for his client that didn’t include time behind bars.
He said Weed suffered from mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Moreover, Weed was suffering from an ongoing medical condition that might require surgery.
He is scheduled for an exploratory procedure in July to help determine whether surgery is necessary, Rioux said.
Rioux said he was concerned about the availability of quality health care in federal prison for Weed.
The judge stated Weed has until Aug. 7 to report to prison to start serving his sentence, giving him time to undergo the procedure and consult with a doctor about the results afterward.
Rioux said Weed’s large family, including two children in high school, relied on their father for support. He said removing Weed from the home would have a “destabilizing” effect.
A tearful Weed addressed the judge, telling her he regretted his choices.
“I’m ashamed of myself,” he said. “I want to make right for my wrongdoings.”
He said, “I love my family more than anything,” but had let them down by his criminal conduct.
“I am truly sorry for the things I have done,” he said.
Torresen said the real victims of Weed’s crimes were the U.S. taxpayers.
She said she was astounded that Weed’s long history of fraud schemes had merely gotten him “slaps on the hands.”
“It’s what you know,” she said. “You do fraud, practically for a living.”
Weed pleaded guilty to four federal felony charges of wire fraud in October. A fifth charge, HUD fraud, was dismissed Friday by prosecutors.
The PPP was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the Small Business Administration that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.
The program allowed third-party lenders to approve and disburse SBA-backed PPP loans to cover payroll, fixed debts, utilities, rent/mortgage, accounts payable and other bills incurred by qualifying businesses during, and resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
