SPRINGFIELD, MO – A federal grand jury has indicted 47-year-old Jason L. Hemingway, a local business owner, accusing him of fraudulently securing more than $316,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and laundering over $35,000 in pandemic relief funds.
According to court documents, Hemingway applied for the first PPP loan on February 9, 2021, on behalf of his company, Principal Transfer Group, LLC. Prosecutors allege he falsely claimed that another individual was the business owner and submitted falsified payroll figures, reporting 25 employees and an average monthly payroll of $63,212. The loan application, which Hemingway signed using the other individual’s name, resulted in the disbursement of $158,031 in federal funds.
Just two months later, on April 8, 2021, Hemingway allegedly repeated the scheme to obtain a second PPP loan. In that application, he again listed another person as the business owner and misrepresented the size of his payroll, stating that the company employed eight workers. The second application also falsely certified that all previous PPP funds had been used for eligible business expenses. Hemingway received an additional $158,031 from this second loan.
Federal prosecutors allege that Hemingway diverted significant portions of the loan proceeds for personal use. The indictment states that he transferred $11,000 to another business he owned, 417 Print Shop, LLC, another $11,000 into his personal account, and $13,851.16 to a Robinhood investment account.
Hemingway is charged with two counts each of bank fraud and making false statements on a loan application, and three counts of money laundering. If convicted, he could be required to forfeit assets totaling at least $351,913.16 — the amount prosecutors say he gained through the alleged schemes.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri as part of ongoing efforts to investigate and recover misused federal pandemic relief funds.