Arroyo Grande developer sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for fraud

September 21, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

An Arroyo Grande developer was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison today for using stolen identities to fraudulently obtain more than $1.3 million in loans intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court also ordered Alfred Nevis, 53, to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration and to forfeit another $1.3 million to the United States Treasury.

From April 1, 2020 through Aug, 6, 2020, Nevis allegedly used the identities of multiple acquaintances—including current and former employees, business associates, and their spouses—to illegally obtain Small Business Administration’s economic injury disaster loans.

Nevis used the stolen identities to register straw corporations, obtain employer identification numbers from the IRS, and submit loan applications on behalf of the newly-registered corporations. In one instance, Nevis claimed a straw corporation called Isley Farms had 12 employees and generated more than $725,000 in revenue in 2019.

Between April 1, 2020, and Sept. 25, 2020, Nevis submitted at least 22 loan applications using the stolen identities of at least eight individuals. Together, these applications sought nearly $2.8 million from the Small Business Administration.

By August 2020, Nevis had obtained more than $1.3 million in loan payouts and laundered at least $160,000 of his ill-gotten gains.

On May 17, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Nevis with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. On May 2, 2023, he pleaded guilty to all three charges.