A Texas man was arrested on Dec. 14 for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $3.3 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the US Department of Justice reported.

The indictment alleges that Scott Jackson Davis, of Harris County, fraudulently received the funds through three fraudulent PPP loan applications submitted to a financial institution. Davis submitted applications for three businesses that he claimed to represent: Skilled Trade Investments LP, Skilled Trade Staffing LLC and Skilled Trade Investments Group LLC.

He is charged with wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Davis claimed that these businesses had numerous employees and significant payroll, when they had few if any employees and little to no payroll, according to the department. Davis also claimed on the applications that he had not been convicted of a felony in the previous five years but had pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud charges in the Southern District of Texas in April 2017.

According to the DOJ, Davis spent a large portion of the PPP loan funds on private jet travel, real estate and luxury vehicles.

If convicted, Davis faces a maximum total penalty of 30 years in prison for each count of bank fraud, 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.