Louisville man indicted on 13 fraud charges after filing fake applications for CARES Act funding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A federal grand jury indicted a Louisville man accused of filing fake applications for federal financial assistance programs.

Blake Patterson, 37, was indicted Wednesday on 13 counts of fraud.

Patterson filed 11 fake applications to various CARES Act financial assistance programs between Aug. 5, 2020 and Oct. 5, 2021 that resulted in the theft of $133,802, as well as the attempted theft of an additional $608,704, according to court documents.

Court documents show Patterson created three entities at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and "exaggerated the gross revenues, number of employees, and payroll of those entities in the fraudulent applications he filed," according to a news release.

Following those applications, Patterson was issued an Economic Injury Disaster loan of $67,900 and a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $65,902. He also submitted a fake application for forgiveness of the PPP loan, which was granted.

Patterson was charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. He made his first court appearance on Thursday. If convicted, he faces a maximum 270 years in prison. He's currently being held in the Oldham County Detention Center.