Florida blimp-company proprietor sentenced to 5½ years for stealing $8 million in COVID assist

Patrick Parker Walsh, 42, of Williston, Fla., submitted dozens of fraudulent purposes to authorities aid packages for his firm, the Airsign Airship Group, which operates a fleet of 15 promoting blimps world wide, federal prosecutors in Florida mentioned.

The purposes, which sought greater than $14 million in assist from the Payroll Protection Program and in economic-injury catastrophe loans, extremely inflated the quantity of people that labored for Walsh’s firm and claimed dormant subsidiaries had been energetic companies, prosecutors mentioned.

In all, Walsh acquired $7.8 million in assist, investigators mentioned. 

But as a substitute of utilizing the cash to avoid wasting his enterprise, prosecutors mentioned, Walsh funneled a lot of it into the acquisition of high-priced actual property, together with a non-public island within the Gulf of Mexico; a ski resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and to assist a 78-acre farm he and his household owned in Florida.

“Patrick Walsh abused a program that was designed to ease suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” mentioned FBI particular agent Sherri Onks. “Instead of using millions of dollars in federal funds to help keep struggling businesses afloat and honest workers employed, he selfishly diverted it for his own personal gain.” 

Walsh pleaded responsible to financial institution fraud and wire fraud in August. In addition to his jail time period, Walsh was ordered to pay again the $7.8 million.

An legal professional for Walsh had no instant remark. In courtroom papers, his authorized crew argued that he had not been motivated by greed however was genuinely attempting to maintain his enterprise going in an effort to assist his spouse and 11 kids and the households of his workers. 

“Unlike many of the PPP fraud cases that have been prosecuted nationally, Mr. Walsh had actual, viable businesses with employees. While he took advantage of a program and obtained loan proceeds beyond what his companies qualified for, Mr. Walsh did not use the loan proceeds to go on lavish trips or to buy expensive cars, boats, or jewelry. Mr. Walsh paid his employees, and he used the majority of the proceeds to keep his businesses afloat and to keep his staff employed,” his legal professionals wrote in a courtroom submitting.

Walsh was the founding father of Airsign Airship Group, based on his LinkedIn web page. He had managed to place the corporate collectively in 2017 via the acquisition of a number of different blimp operations however had relied upon high-interest loans to do it, his legal professionals mentioned. While the corporate participated in quite a few promoting campaigns for main company purchasers, corresponding to Discovery Channel’s
WBD,
+0.24%
Shark Week, Carnival Cruise Lines
CCL,
-0.74%
and Outback Steakhouse
BLMN,
-3.48%,
nearly all of its bookings dried up in the beginning of the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Walsh viewed the loans as inexpensive capital to replace his high-interest debt and became aggressive in his loan applications, seeking funds over and above [those to] which his companies were entitled. To obtain the loans, Mr. Walsh made poor choices, including fabricating documents when necessary to obtain the loans,” his legal professionals admitted.

In courtroom papers, Walsh pleaded for leniency, pointing to his Christian religion and long-running missionary work in Central America.    

But the federal choose within the case, Allen C. Winsor, mentioned the main points of the case had been inconceivable to disregard.

“There is too much fraud out there, particularly with PPP,” Winsor mentioned, based on the Gainesville Sun. “There is a greater need to deter white-collar crime.”

Walsh accepted his destiny, telling the courtroom: “I tell my children that it’s in the moments when no one is watching that you can measure a man’s character. Unfortunately for me, when I was in that situation, I failed.”