The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on Jan. 25, Nazim Hassam, 70, of Bartonsville, was indicted by a federal grand jury on bank fraud and money laundering charges.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment says that Hassam applied for and received multiple loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program while making false statements on the applications. Hassam was indicted along with two businesses he co-owns, the Pocono Plaza Inn and Om Sri Sai Inc., in 2019 on felony sex and drug trafficking charges.

When asked whether he or the companies applying for the loans were under indictment, Hassam falsely answered, “No.” The indictment says that Hassam fraudulently obtained loans totaling $89,308. Hassam then conducted unlawful monetary transactions with the bulk of those funds.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. The task force identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multiagency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

If convicted, Hassam faces a maximum total penalty under federal law for these offenses

of 120 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.