Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. today announced the indictment of WILLIAM FELCON, THOMAS A. FELCON and their companies for stealing more than $1.6 million from pandemic relief programs. The defendants are charged in a New York Supreme Court indictment with Conspiracy, Scheme to Defraud, Grand Larceny and Falsifying Business Records. [1] 

“The Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were available at the height of the pandemic when New Yorkers needed immediate financial support to keep their businesses afloat. These individuals allegedly defrauded the system and lined their own pockets at the expense of others during a dire economic situation,” said District Attorney Bragg. “I am grateful to the prosecutors in my office for protecting the integrity of these critical public programs by pursuing accountability in this case.”

The indictment is the culmination of a long-term wiretap investigation conducted by the Manhattan D.A.’s Office from October 2020 to June 2021. The investigation began when law enforcement officials identified suspicious financial transactions by a number of New York City-based drywall construction companies.

According to court documents and statements from prosecutors, from April 7, 2020, to June 17, 2021, WILLIAM FELCON and his nephew THOMAS A. FELCON obtained federal loans for their respective companies. Both defendants made false statements in numerous loan applications regarding the companies’ number of employees, payroll amounts and intended use of the loan proceeds to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) programs. The loan programs were designed to assist businesses with retaining employees during the pandemic. None of the companies had employees or payroll expenses at all relevant times of the scheme.

WILLIAM FELCON owns A L One Inc. and A L One Consulting, Inc. His nephew THOMAS A. FELCON participated in the business affairs of A L One Inc. and A L One Consulting, Inc., assisting with the hiring, supervising, and payment of subcontractors. THOMAS A. FELCON also controlled The Nebula Group and GPT Property Consultants, Inc.

In total, the companies allegedly received more than $600,000 in PPP loans from several different private lenders and received loan advances and more than $1,000,000 EIDL loans for which they were not eligible.

To facilitate the scheme, when applying for PPP loans, THOMAS A. and WILLIAM FELCON allegedly created fraudulent IRS reporting forms that falsely inflated the number of employees for each of the companies, and the amounts of the respective companies’ wages and payroll taxes. 

Assistant District Attorneys James J. Hanley and Zachary Weintraub are handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Mike Ohm (Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau), Judy Salwen (Principal Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau), Jodie Kane (Chief of the Rackets Bureau), Christopher Conroy (Senior Advisor to the Investigation Division) and Executive Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger (Chief of the Investigation Division). Assistant District Attorney Jaime Hickey-Mendoza also assisted with the prosecution. The investigation was led by Rackets Investigator Amanda Bauza and her team, under the supervision of Walter Alexander (Chief Investigator), Michael Wigdor (Assistant Chief Racket Investigator), and Sgt. Daniel Clark-El.  Investigative Analyst Philetus Holt and Trial Preparation Assistants Yanisa Campusano, Samantha Kritzer, and Eleanor Bock assisted with the investigation. Investigative support also came from the High Technology Analysis Unit (Director Steven Moran, Supervising Computer Forensic Analyst Doug Daus, and Cyber Response Investigator Lauretta Gorman) and Forensic Accounting & Financial Investigations Bureau (Senior Financial Investigator Nicholas Cangro and Forensic Accountant Investigator Edward Keegan). Former Trial Preparation Assistant Nichols Quinn and former Principal Financial Investigator Robert Ryan also assisted with the case.

D.A. Bragg thanked the U.S. SBA, especially Kathleen Littwin of the SBA’s Office of the Inspector General, the New York State Department of Labor and the New York State Inspector General – Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General for their assistance in the investigation.

Defendant Information
Thomas A. Felcon
Howard Beach, N.Y.

Charges:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, five counts
• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, three counts
• Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class D felony, two counts
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, nine counts
• Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

William Felcon
Manhasset Hills, N.Y.
Charges:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, nine counts
• Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

A L One Inc.
New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Charges:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, four counts
• Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

A L One Consulting Inc.
New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Charges:

• Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, two counts
• Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

GPT Property Consultants, Inc.
South Ozone Park, N.Y.
Charges:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, two counts
• Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

The Nebula Group
South Ozone Park, N.Y.
Charges:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, three counts
• Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.