A man who laundered $20,000 in fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) moneys was sentenced January 30, 2026, to 33 months in federal prison. Don Edward Williams, Jr., age 32, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 28, 2025, guilty plea to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with proceeds of a specified unlawful activity.
In a plea agreement, Williams admitted he obtained $20,833 by means of a fraudulent PPP loan in May 2021. Williams’ PPP loan application falsely represented that he had earned over $100,000 in gross income during 2019 from a construction business.
A lender participating in the PPP deposited $20,833 into an account that Williams controlled at a credit union in Cedar Rapids. By 9:00 a.m. that morning, Williams had withdrawn $20,000 of the PPP money in cash. Over the next three days, Williams made an additional $390 in cash withdrawals and spent the remaining government money at a crab shack and a smoke shop.
In March 2022, Williams submitted a PPP loan forgiveness application to the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which oversaw and guaranteed the PPP. Williams’ forgiveness application falsely stated that Williams had spent the PPP money on payroll expenses, and the SBA forgave the loan.
When federal agents interviewed Williams about his PPP loan in January 2025, Williams repeatedly denied any knowledge of the PPP loan or withdrawing money from a credit union. Eventually, Williams confessed to withdrawing the PPP money from his account.
Williams has an extensive and violent criminal history. Williams has 18 prior adult convictions, including 11 committed while on probation or parole. Williams has four prior domestic abuse assault convictions, including a 2024 incident in which he slapped his girlfriend in the face, pushed her to the ground, grabbed her by her wig, drug her across the floor causing a rug burn, choked her, and punched her head. Williams fled the scene when law enforcement arrived. When officers ultimately found Williams, he refused their orders to stop, and Williams injured an officer during an ensuing physical struggle. Williams’ other convictions in state court include illegal firearms possession, interference with official acts, attempted eluding, false identification, theft, drugs, and burglary.
While on release in his federal case, Williams participated in a fraudulent scheme to defraud an Iowa county treasurer’s office. Williams agreed to register and title a car in his own name even though the car belonged to a felon who was barred from driving. After the felon was cited for driving while barred, Williams agreed to re-register and re-title the car in the name of a third individual so that the barred felon could continue to drive it. Later, the felon was arrested for allegedly driving while under the influence. Williams’ federal release bond was revoked after the scheme was discovered.
Williams was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Williams was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $20,833 in restitution to the SBA. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Williams is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-32.
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