Former Charleston contractor pleads guilty to defrauding Small Business Administration

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Carl Ulm, 67, of Charleston, pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding the Small Business Association to receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Evidence presented in court established that Ulm applied to the SBA through a third-party lender, to receive a PPP loan that contained materially false representations. At the time he applied for the loan, Ulm had sold the assets of his business, Anchor Restoration Contractors LLC, to another entity, according to a news release. He therefore did not have payroll obligations or business expenses. The total amount of the PPP loan that Ulm received was $204,132.50, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

Ulm is subject to a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Ulm after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Amy F. Bower prosecuted the case.

In 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.