St. Charles County man pleads guilty to pandemic loan fraud

ST. CHARLES COUNTY (KMOV) -- The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri said an O’Fallon man pleaded guilty Wednesday to more than $50,000 in pandemic loan fraud.

David Smiley, 39, pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge that stated he fraudulently applied for and obtained a $54,900 loan through the Small Business Administration. Charges allege Smiley lied about the existence of a company, its revenue and its employees in order to get the loan. Smiley’s personal checking account was listed as the company’s business account, prosecutors said in a press release.

The loan was for an economic injury disaster. Smiley pleaded guilty to using the money for car payments, private school payments and cryptocurrency, the press release said. The FBI arrested Smiley in July of 2021 and recovered $25,000 from his checking account.

Smiley faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced on November 16.