(WNY News Now) – A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to 57 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa after being convicted of 37 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering related to fraudulent Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan applications.

Buffalo – Michael Rech, formerly the Director, President, and CEO of Guardian of Humanity, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, and the sole member of Eclipse, a limited liability company, has been handed a 57-month prison sentence. The conviction stems from his fraudulent attempts to secure PPP loans totaling over $880,000. Rech falsely claimed that his companies had employees and were paying wages, making him eligible for the relief funds.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan K. McGuire and Sean C. Eldridge, who prosecuted the case, uncovered that Rech’s businesses neither had employees nor paid wages. Concurrently, Rech was unemployed and receiving New York State unemployment benefits.

Rech managed to obtain three PPP loans, approximately $277,500 in total. To evade federal reporting requirements, he withdrew the funds in increments below $10,000. The Internal Revenue Service eventually recovered the entire amount from Rech’s home safes and a bank account under his exclusive control. As a result of the trial, all $277,500 has been forfeited to the government.

This conviction and sentencing follow an investigation by multiple agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and the Small Business Administration.

Michael Rech will now serve his 57-month prison term.