A Cedar Rapids resident, Joshua Brandon Johnson, was sentenced on April 23 to more than two years in federal prison for laundering over $20,000 in government loan money obtained through fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson, age 34 and formerly of Elkhart, Indiana, pleaded guilty in December to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction involving property derived from unlawful activity. He admitted to receiving $20,208 from a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan after falsely claiming he was a barber who earned nearly $100,000 in 2020. The PPP was created by Congress in 2020 to support small businesses affected by the pandemic.
According to court documents, Johnson directed that the funds be deposited into his bank account and withdrew $20,000 in cash within hours. He later said he did this because he owed child support and feared garnishment. Between 2021 and 2024, Johnson spent time incarcerated in Indiana for failing to pay child support. He used the remaining PPP funds on fast food and other personal expenses before submitting another false application seeking forgiveness of the loan by stating it had been used for payroll costs. When questioned about his income claims as a barber on his application, Johnson told federal agents he was just “shootin’ [his] shot.”
Johnson has prior felony convictions including resisting law enforcement, theft, domestic-abuse assault, drug possession and nonsupport of a dependent child. United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced him to 30 months’ imprisonment with an order to pay $20,208 restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration and serve two years supervised release following his sentence; there is no parole under federal law.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa advocates for the rights of approximately 1.3 million Iowans across its jurisdiction according to its official website. The office is part of the U.S. Department of Justice according to its official website, employing around sixty staff members according to its official website. Its responsibilities include prosecuting federal crimes such as those committed by Johnson as well as managing civil litigation on behalf of the government and collecting debts owed federally according to its official website. Leadership includes more than twenty assistant U.S attorneys along with three high-intensity drug trafficking area attorneys according to its official website.
The office covers fifty-two counties spanning over twenty-five thousand square miles with offices located both in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City; it also provides assistance services for victims or witnesses involved with federal crimes according to its official website.
Johnson remains free on bond until May 19 when he must surrender himself at ten o’clock that morning.
