Springfield business owner pleads guilty to COVID-19 fraud and money laundering

Date: Feb. 26, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Springfield, MO - A Springfield business owner pleaded guilty today for fraudulently obtaining $316,062 in Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and using the money for unauthorized purposes, including for his own personal benefit.

According to court documents, Jason L. Hemingway applied for two PPP loans on behalf of his business, Principal Transfer Group, LLC, in February and April of 2021. On those applications Hemingway falsely inflated the number of employees and certified the PPP loans were for eligible business expenses. Additionally, Hemingway used the name of another individual without their knowledge or authorization (due to his own poor personal credit history) to obtain loans designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans that were suffering from negative economic effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Specifically, Hemingway pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. He agreed to pay $316,062 in restitution and will forfeit to the government any property derived from the fraud and money laundering scheme, including a money judgment.

A federal district court judge will determine Hemingway's sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Under federal statutes, Hemingway is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud and up to 10 years in prison for money laundering. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.