A former social media influencer from Rockville pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering stemming from a scheme to falsely secure over $1.2 million in COVID-19 relief loans.
Denish Sahadevan, 31, is a former TikTok influencer—going by “Danny Devan”—who gained almost 18,000 followers by making videos about cryptocurrency and stocks. According to his plea agreement, he admitted to using his home in Rockville to create fake documents and use them to apply online for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs). With money he laundered, he was able to secure a loan for $1.3 million and purchased a home in Potomac in 2022.
Under the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, American small business owners suffering from the economic impacts of the pandemic could apply for forgivable loans to help with job retention and other expenses. According to government data, the CARES Act has appropriated roughly $2.2 trillion to date, $377 billion specifically used to fund small business loans and grants.
According to Sahadevan’s plea agreement, he began applying for EIDL and PPP loans in March 2020 on behalf of four Maryland entities under his control, using fake documents like tax forms and bank statements to substantiate the applications. He also fraudulently used someone else’s tax-related identifying information to legitimize the forms he created, without that person’s knowledge or agreement, according to his plea.
Sahadevan used his home in Rockville to create and store the false documents, according to authorities from the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office. Using them, he applied for approximately 71 PPP loans totaling over $941,000 and successfully obtained around $146,000 in PPP benefits. He also applied for and received eight EIDLs totaling nearly $284,000. To secure the EIDLs, he convinced his father to co-sign the loans and later forged his signature without his knowledge, according to officials.
Once the loans were secured, Sahadevan deposited the proceeds into bank accounts he opened for that purpose, then laundered the funds through trading securities and cryptocurrency, settling personal debts and making payments to his girlfriend, the plea agreement shows.
He also applied for and successfully secured a $1.3 million loan to purchase property in Potomac, failing to disclose on the application that he owed hundreds of thousands to the United States for the EIDL benefits he received.
On Feb. 24, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on the Potomac home and recovered multiple electronic devices, 18 driver’s licenses belonging to other people, what appeared to be a gold encased Bitcoin and approximately $17,000 in cash stuffed in a suitcase in a bedroom closet.
Per his plea agreement, Sahadevan will forfeit the cash and Bitcoin—direct proceeds of his fraud scheme—and will pay restitution totaling over $429,906. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and a max of 10 years for money laundering. He also faces a mandatory sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft. His sentence hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 21.
