Long Island Man Sentenced for Covid Relief Fraud

A Long Island resident, Niall Alli, who spent around $2 million from Covid relief funds on luxury items such as Patek watches, upscale hotels, and cryptocurrency, received a four-year prison sentence on Wednesday.

The 52-year-old from Inwood admitted guilt in December 2023 to committing disaster relief and wire fraud by misappropriating over $1.7 million from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) during the pandemic, according to federal prosecutors.

In addition to serving time, Alli is also required to repay the entire sum. There will be further confiscation of funds from both corporate bank accounts and assets from corporate Coinbase wallets.

Lawyer Joseph Nocella Jr. shared his thoughts on the case: “Alli viewed the Covid-19 program and the ensuing crisis as an opportunity to defraud the government and taxpayers. He now faces the consequences—loss of freedom and the obligation to compensate for his wrongdoings.”

From April 2020 to November 2021, Alli is said to have submitted a fraudulent PPP application, complete with fake payroll documentation and false financial information through two companies he managed, Allicorp, Inc. and Oxypaper, Inc.

Once the government funds were deposited into his account, he made additional fraudulent requests for loan forgiveness, supported by forged documents.

Prosecutors highlighted that this money financed a lavish lifestyle for Alli, including the purchase of two Patek Philippe watches valued at nearly $500,000 and cryptocurrency investments. They mentioned he also made extravagant expenditures like over $800 on champagne and $600 on scotch at a high-end restaurant.

“Alli’s fraudulent actions exploited funds meant to support businesses in distress due to the pandemic,” remarked USPIS inspector Daniel Brubaker. “Today’s sentence underscores the commitment to pursue anyone exploiting U.S. mail to illegally obtain taxpayer dollars.”