Assignment Clerk Pleads Guilty After Falsifying Applications for Pandemic Relief Programs

Michael Holder, an Amtrak assignment clerk based in Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty on June 5, 2024, in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, to two counts of Wire Fraud related to the fraudulent receipt of benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Our investigation found that Holder provided false and fictitious information to support an Economic Injury Disaster Loan application to the Small Business Administration. Further, Holder provided false and fictitious information to a financial institution to support a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Holder obtained a total of $30,833 to support his purported personally owned business. Holder will be sentenced at a future date.