The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Joshua Lybolt, 45, and Magdalena Lybolt, 46, of Castle Rock, Colorado, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Colorado. Joshua Lybolt has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering, and Magdalena Lybolt has been charged with wire fraud.
According to the indictment, from April 2020 until around August 2022, Joshua Lybolt applied for and received $4,950,000 in COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and $41,667 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds from an SBA-approved lender.
The indictment alleged that Joshua Lybolt falsely certified in fraudulent loan applications that the business entities suffered losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic despite knowing that the business entities were not in operation on the dates required to receive relief funds.
The indictment further alleged that Joshua Lybolt and Magdalena Lybolt falsely certified that all the loan proceeds would be used for business expenses when, in fact, they used the bulk of the proceeds for personal expenses, including a 2022 Porsche Taycan, a 2016 Land Rover Range Rover, memberships in a country club, a luxury vacation club, and real estate properties.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
The CARES Act created the PPP, a program administered by the SBA that provided loans to small businesses to retain workers, maintain payroll, and other expenses consistent with PPP rules. Additionally, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The defendants appeared in Denver on July 11, 2024, in front of Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Theodore O’Brien and Craig Fansler is prosecuting the case.
