Former Miami Gardens police officer pleads guilty to COVID-19 loan fraud: feds

An ex-Miami Gardens police officer made a false statement to obtain a nearly $64,000 business loan through a COVID-19 relief program, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

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Alvin Bernard, 38, of Miami Gardens, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the Small Business Administration to secure a $63,900 Economic Injury Disaster Loan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement last week.

“Alvin Bernard was a police officer sworn to uphold the law, yet he lied to obtain federal relief funds intended for businesses harmed by the pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in the statement. “His guilty plea holds him accountable for abusing the public trust and stealing from a program funded by American taxpayers.”

Bernard was the sole manager and authorized representative of Vanity Properties, LLC., the statement said. He submitted an online loan application that falsely represented Vanity Properties’ gross revenues to qualify for federal disaster assistance.

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He claimed the company generated $127,881 in gross revenues for the 12-month period preceding Jan. 31, 2020, but it hadn’t, the statement said. The Small Business Administration approved the loan based on the false information.

Bernard faces a maximum sentence of two years in federal prison, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on the morning of Sept. 4, the statement. He agreed to resign from the police department, surrender his Florida law enforcement certification and not seek recertification.

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His attorney didn’t immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment.