(Sioux City)– A Virginia man has pleaded guilty to a federal money laundering charge that has ties to northwest Iowa. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 31-year-old Benjamin Sakyi entered the plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City.
Prosecutors say evidence at plea hearings show Sakyi fraudulently received more than $900,000 in federal CARES Act funds in the names of two Virginia corporations and transferred the funds elsewhere. They say Sakyi received the funds from a Minnesota man, Donald Trosin, who’s formerly from Armstrong. Trosin had submitted over 20 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications to the Small Business Administration in his name and another individual. Prosecutors say Trosin, who was also charged in the matter, falsely represented he had 120 employees on his payroll and over $5 million in payroll expenses when in reality he didn’t operate a business at all.
Sentencing for Sakyi is pending completion of a pre-sentence report.
