An Atlantic City man made up two businesses to bilk the government out of more than $30,000, according to federal charges.
LuQuay Zahir, 49, was arrested at his home Tuesday morning on allegations connected to his alleged actions in 2020 and 2021.
At that time, Zahir was working as coordinator for the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency, or ROSS, grant program for the Atlantic City Housing Authority and Urban Development Agency.
But while he was working there, Zahir allegedly put in for loans meant to help business owners dealing with the financial cost of the COVID pandemic, claiming ownership of businesses that apparently did not exist.
Zahir first put in for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, July 9, 2020, saying he owned a business described on the application only as "advertising sales," according to the federal complaint.
The business employed 10 people and made $100,000 gross revenue from Feb. 1, 2019 through Jan. 31, 2020, he allegedly claimed in the application.
He was seeking a loan along with a $10,000 EIDL advance, the complaint states.
Zahir received the $10,000 advance, but was denied the loan due to his "unsatisfactory credit history."
An investigation would later find that the business address was Zahir's home, a single-family dwelling that is not conducive to 10 employees, the complaint states. Two days' of surveillance also saw no employees go in or out of the home.
Additionally, there was no other paperwork related to a business, nor had he filed anything with the IRS.
Zahir allegedly filed another loan under the Paycheck Protection Program on March 20, 2021.
This time, he asked for $20,400, saying he ran a barbershop that made $97,919 in profits in 2019, the complaint states. He again gave his home address as that of the business.
The FBI showed up at that same home on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard on Tuesday morning to arrest Zahir.
He is charged with one count of making false statements to influence the U.S. Small Business Administration and one count of wire fraud.
Zahir appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Pascal in Camden federal court Tuesday afternoon, and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
This is no Zahir's only pending charge.
He still has an active criminal case out of the Atlantic County Superior Court stemming from an arrest in February 2021, right in between the two alleged business fabrications.
Zahir is accused of beating a man with a handgun Jan. 4, 2021.
At that time, police were called to South Carolina and Baltic avenues, where a man said he had been assaulted when his back was turned.
Michael Smith said he and his attacker spent time in the county jail together, but that he did not know his assailant’s “government name,” according to the affidavit previously obtained by BreakingAC.
Video surveillance allegedly captured the attack by the man a witness said was named “Quay.”
But during a detention hearing Feb. 23, 2021, Zahir’s defense attorney claimed it was Smith who had the gun and that Zahir took it from him in self-defense.
At that time, the state was moving for Zahir to be held pending trial.
"I understand these allegations are serious," Zahir told the judge at the time. "But I’ve dedicated my life to trying to be different than I was growing up."
His charges included possession of a weapon by a certain person due to his prior criminal history.
Zahir's testimony about his commitment to the community and work in helping broker peace between warring gangs in the city moved both the judge and the prosecutor in the case, who withdrew the state’s motion for detention.
The judge indicated she already was writing up an order to release Zahir when the prosecutor expressed his change of intent.
It was not clear if his federal charges would impact his release in that case.
The false statements charge carries a maximum sentence of two years. The wire fraud has a maximum penalty of 20 years.
