Middletown resident pleads guilty to bank fraud, admits seeking $4.7M in fraudulent PPP loans

PROVIDENCE – A Middletown resident has admitted in federal court that he fraudulently sought $4.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Rhode Island announced Tuesday.

Michael C. Moller admitted in court that he applied for and received nearly $600,000 in PPP loans that he claimed would be used to pay employees in Fall River at a business that was not incorporated in Massachusetts. The USAO said that investigators also failed to locate any tax or bank records for the company, which was identified in filings as “Top Notch Tile.”

He also admitted to filing loan applications in his name, and caused other applications to be filed in the name of his father and his girlfriend’s brother. He also admitted that acting alone, or with family members and associates, caused 11 fraudulent PPP applications to be filed in the name of his girlfriend’s son.

Moller pleaded guilty to bank fraud Tuesday, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 19, 2021.

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