Shelby Township man sentenced for $2.5M PPP fraud scheme

FOX 2 - A Shelby Township man was sentenced Thursday to three years in federal prison for his role in a $2.5 million fraud scheme.

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Samer Kammo and his family members received fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program funds using fake payroll, health insurance bank and tax records for businesses.

Kammo, 46, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

His co-defendant, Rita Shaba, was previously sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment. Kammo’s wife, Christina Anasi, still awaits sentencing.

As part of his sentence, Kammo was also ordered to pay more than $2.4 million in restitution.

According to court records, the conspirators misappropriated the personal identifying information of several of Kammo’s family members to commit their crime, including that of Kammo’s own mother.

Kammo was previously sentenced to a three-year federal prison sentence for dealing drugs out of his parents’ liquor store.

"This defendant and his co-conspirators tried to cheat the system by exploiting a federal relief program meant to help Americans in need. Let this case send a clear message: crime does not pay," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.

Court records said Kammo and his co-conspirators caused fraudulent PPP applications to be submitted for several businesses. Those applications lied about their payroll information and falsely certified that PPP loan funds would be used for permissible business-related purposes.

The defendants also caused fictitious payroll, health insurance, bank, and tax records to be submitted in connection with the PPP loan applications.

Kammo and his family members received nearly $2.5 million in fraudulent PPP loan funds.

The Paycheck Protection Program was created by Congress to help businesses harmed by the economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.