CHARLOTTE — A man from Mooresville pleaded guilty to federal charges after allegedly stealing millions of dollars from a COVID-19 relief program.
Steven Andiloro has been the center of several reports by Channel 9, going back nearly a decade. Now, Andiloro is facing prison time.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Andiloro got funds from the Paycheck Protection Program by submitting fraudulent applications with fake business information and inflated expenses. Andiloro ended up getting more than $2.6 million in disaster relief funds, and he used them for his own personal benefit.
In addition to the PPP fraud, Andiloro had been running a Ponzi-style fraud scheme from 2018 to 2021 involving local residents. The Department of Justice says Andiloro would convince victims to invest in various businesses, including car service and a marijuana dispensary. Some of the businesses were real, while others were completely made up.
[ ALSO READ: Mooresville man accused of multi-million dollar investment, COVID relief loan fraud ]
Andiloro would then take the investments and pay for personal expenses or make payments to other investors.
Even further back than that, Channel 9 reported when Andiloro provided security for Charlotte-area restaurants without a license.
Andiloro’s company had a contract with Buffalo Wild Wings when he was arrested in May 2014 along with five of his armed guards. Authorities took their guns and charged him with obtaining property by false pretense and operating a security company without the proper licenses.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Andiloro is facing up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud.
(VIDEO: What to know about ‘reshipping fraud,’ and how to catch it)
This browser does not support the video element.