Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Owner of Stash’s Pizza pleads guilty to defrauding SBA for COVID-19 relief loan
Stavros Papantoniadis is already serving 8.5 years in prison for mistreating employees.
The owner of Stash’s Pizza pleaded guilty Tuesday to submitting false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration to receive pandemic relief funds for a business he no longer owned, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced.
Stavros Papantoniadis, 49, of Westwood, pleaded guilty to one count of false statements.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 2. Papantoniadis has remained in custody since his arrest on March 16, 2023.
Previously, Papantoniadis was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine for forcing his employees, undocumented immigrants, to work long hours without pay and no breaks while threatening to tell law enforcement about their immigration status.
Advertisement:
Prosecutors said Papantoniadis designed his businesses to “force victims to work against their will.” Papantoniadis used physical force, threats of violence, and threats of deportation to exercise control over his workers, prosecutors said.
Authorities are now charging Papantoniadis with additional wrongdoing.
According to the D.A.’s office, Papantoniadis sold one of his pizzerias in Randolph in April 2021. Subsequently, the secretary of state canceled the limited liability company through which Papantoniadis owned the pizzeria.
Prosecutors say Papantoniadis applied for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan between November 2021 and January 2022. The government designed the loans to help small businesses that suffered economic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertisement:
In his submission to the SBA, Papantoniadis falsely stated that he still owned and operated the pizzeria in Randolph and claimed to employ 18 people. Based on these fabricated descriptions, the SBA approved the loan and sent Papantoniadis $499,900.
The false statement charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The attorney general established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com