Baltimore County Man Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than a Half Million Dollars in COVID-19 Cares Act Loans

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced a Baltimore County man to federal prison today, in connection with submitting fraudulent CARES Act loan applications.

Judge Bennett sentenced Edward McCorkle, 37, to two years in prison, followed by six months of home detention, and then three years of supervised release, for one count of wire fraud. McCorkle pled guilty to the federal charges back on September 15, 2025. Judge Bennett also ordered McCorkle to pay $523,500 in restitution.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI - Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Robert O. McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act - a federal law enacted in March 2020 - provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives financial assistance including forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses. Established by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) - administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) - along with the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), helped businesses meet their financial obligations.

According to his plea agreement, beginning in May 2020, and continuing through February 2021 in the District of Maryland, McCorkle engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions - including Cross River Bank and the SBA - to obtain fraudulent loans for various purported businesses that he previously established under the PPP and EIDL program.

McCorkle ultimately fraudulently obtained more than $523,000 as part of this scheme while attempting to obtain a total of $946,500. He used the fraudulently obtained funds for multiple impermissible purposes, including numerous personal expenses, large cash withdrawals, and to purchase and rehabilitate real estate in Baltimore City.

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

For more information on the Department's response to the pandemic, please visit justice.gov/coronavirus. 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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and BCPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case, and recognized Paralegal Specialists Juliette Jarman and Joanna B.N. Huber, for their valuable assistance.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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