Former Everett resident sentenced for pandemic-related fraud

A former resident of Everett allegedly used another person’s identity to fraudulently apply for an apartment and for pandemic-related relief funds. 

Tedje Menard, 28, was sentenced last week to 28 months in prison and three years of supervised release for the crimes. Menard pleaded guilty in September 2022 to two counts of wire fraud, one count of false representation of a Social Security number, and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’s office. 

Prosecutors said that Menard used the name and identity of another person to apply to rent an apartment in East Boston around November 2020. Menard falsely claimed to be the victim, and provided the company that oversaw the property with the victim’s name, social security number, and date of birth. Menard also provided a North Carolina driver’s license with the victim’s information and his photo on it.

Menard submitted an application to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program for $40,000 using the victim’s name and personal information in June 2021, prosecutors said. The EIDL program was established to help small businesses recover from the economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In April 2021, Menard allegedly used his own name to apply for $20,833 in relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But in the loan application, Menard falsely represented his business’ total gross income from 2019 and his criminal history, officials said. 

The charges against Menard came as the result of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was established in May 2021 to crack down on pandemic-related fraud.