Shamed former NYPD detective gets 4 years for brazenly swindling federal loans in COVID-era fraud scheme

A disgraced ex-NYPD detective was slapped with four years behind bars Wednesday for his role in orchestrating an extensive COVID-era scheme, helping 65 clients secure fraudulent loans during the height of the pandemic.John Bolden, of Valley Stream, was ordered to pay $303,138 in restitution and forfeit $112,002, in addition to his prison stint, for attempting to swindle nearly $3 million in federal governments loan through the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program, investigators said.“Despite being a police officer sworn to uphold the law, the defendant organized a scheme that enabled dozens of individuals, including clients, family members and NYPD co-workers, to obtain millions in federal funds using fictitious tax records,” US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said in a statement.“Bolden brazenly took advantage of a COVID relief program created to help struggling businesses survive an unprecedented national crisis.”Between May 2020 and October 2022, Bolden, 47, leveraged his role as a partner in a tax-preparation business to file false IRS Schedule C documents for his clients in order to obtain PPP loans, according to court documents.He coordinated with the franchise’s unnamed owner, identified as “co-conspirator “ in the criminal complaint, who designed the blueprint for the fraud, court papers said.The owner provided the exact formula based on the desired client payout: take their desired loan amount, divide it by 2.5 and then multiply that figure by 12.Bolden’s co-conspirators — Jacqueline Johnson, his mother, and Christian McKenzie, his cousin — acted as the middlemen between the clients and Bolden, referring dozens of clients to the business in exchange for kickback payments — often ranging from $3,000 to $4,000 per client, according to court papers.Fellow NYPD detective, Anthony Carreira, also fraudulently obtained loans for himself and his spouse, paying Bolden kickbacks from the proceeds, prosecutors said....