John Bolden, NYPD detective from Valley Stream, 3 others charged in alleged PPP fraud scheme

An NYPD detective from Valley Stream who allegedly assisted more than 65 people obtain fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans was among four people arrested and charged Monday in connection with the scheme, federal prosecutors said.

John Bolden, 46, of Valley Stream, allegedly conspired with his fellow NYPD Det. Anthony Carreira, 42, of Staten Island, who is now retired; and Bolden’s mother, Jacqueline Johnson, 78, of Valley Stream; and his cousin Christian McKenzie, 46, of Wheatley Heights, to defraud the federal government’s Small Business Administration, which administered the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loans meant to provide forgivable loans to small businesses to help with job retention after in-person commerce essentially shut down during the pandemic.

Bolden, Johnson and McKenzie were released on $25,000 bonds at their initial appearances in federal court in Brooklyn before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom; Carreira has made arrangements to turn himself in at a later date.

Bolden’s attorney declined to comment. Attorneys for the other defendants did not respond to messages seeking comment.

"As alleged, the defendants, including members of law enforcement responsible for upholding the law, defrauded the United States government out of relief funds meant for businesses struggling to survive the pandemic," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement. "These arrests are a powerful reminder of this Office’s resolve to prosecute anyone who violated the public trust and took advantage of the COVID crisis by stealing from relief programs."

Bolden and Carreira, who owned partnership interests in a franchise location for a tax preparation business, engaged in the alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP funds between May 2020 and October 2022, prosecutors said.

Bolden obtained PPP funds for himself, his co-defendants and more than 65 individuals, including family and friends, "by helping submit online loan applications that contained materially false and fraudulent information," prosecutors said. Bolden prepared fictitious Internal Revenue Service documents, which accompanied the loan applications, containing false information about the applicants’ places of employment, gross income and net income.

The alleged scheme began, according to prosecutors, when on May 9, 2020, Bolden received an email with a 30-minute recording from an individual identified as "Co-Conspirator-1," on how to prepare fraudulent PPP loan applications.

"During the recording, Co-Conspirator-1 recommended that meeting participants submit PPP loan applications in amounts less than $20,000 to avoid having to submit proof the money sought was properly used in order to apply for loan forgiveness," prosecutors wrote in a complaint and affidavit in support of an arrest warrant. “As Co-Conspirator-1 explained, ‘We all want the bread, but we also want the loan forgiveness. That’s the big win.’ ”

Two days later, according to prosecutors, Bolden received a "fictitious" IRS 1040 form that listed his occupation as police officer and said that he earned $5,866 in wages in 2019 "even though NYPD payroll records and Bolden’s bank statements reflect that he earned in excess of $100,000 in wages from the NYPD that year," prosecutors said.

The form also listed earnings of $129,583 in gross receipts and $99,764 in net profit from his "Security Services" business, which listed its address as one of Bolden’s tax preparation franchise locations, prosecutors said.

Bolden ultimately submitted applications for two loans totaling $41,567, which were both approved, prosecutors said.

Bolden has been suspended without pay, according to an NYPD spokesperson. Carreira is retired, the spokesperson said.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.