A man who faked his suicide after scamming the government out of PPP funds will spend over four years in prison.
David Adler Staveley obtained $543,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds along with his co-conspirator David Andrew Butziger. The two men falsely claimed to own three restaurants and one phone company. They applied for the PPP funds at a Rhode Island bank, claiming their businesses had “large monthly payrolls.” Staveley and Butziger requested more than $438,000 for the eateries and a little over $105,000 for Dock Wireless. According to prosecutors, the men did not own any of these businesses.
An unidentified person reported the scheme to police in Berlin, Massachusetts, after seeing emails between Staveley and Butziger discussing the process of obtaining the emergency loans. The FBI got involved and interviewed four alleged full-time employees of Dock Wireless. All four people confessed to knowing Butziger but said they never worked for the company.
The duo was arrested in May 2020 but was released to home confinement and required to wear ankle monitors. Nearly three weeks into house arrest, Staveley removed his device and fled his Rhode Island home. He faked his death to evade capture by penning suicide notes and leaving his wallet in his unlocked vehicle that was found parked along the ocean in Massachusetts. Investigators say he also used stolen license plates and fake IDs to dodge the charges. He was re-arrested in Alpharetta, Georgia, in July 2020.
Staveley was sentenced on Friday to 56 months in federal prison. After his release, he will serve three years of federal supervised release. Butziger will learn his fate next month.
