Man Who Used COVID-19 Relief Funds to Purchase a Personal RV Sentenced to Prison

Spokane, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Jason Carnell O'Daffer, formerly of Wenatchee, Washington, was sentenced for fraudulently obtaining more than $117,000 in COVID relief funding. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 12 months and one day imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provided a number of programs through which eligible small businesses could request and obtain relief funding intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic for small and local businesses. One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provided forgivable loans to eligible small businesses to retain jobs and maintain payroll during the pandemic. Another program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, provided low-interest bridge funding for small businesses placed at risk during the pandemic.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, O'Daffer admitted to fraudulently obtaining $117,400 in EIDL funding for his purported home appraisal business, Chelan Douglas Appraisal Services. When O'Daffer submitted his EIDL application, he was not licensed as an appraiser, and his business was no longer engaging in home appraisals. Rather, O'Daffer spent the loan proceeds on non-business expenses including more than $39,000 for the purchase of a personal RV.

In December of 2022, O'Daffer was arrested in San Francisco. Following his initial appearance, O'Daffer absconded from his pretrial release and remained at large until March of 2023, when he was arrested again.

"Mr. O'Daffer fraudulently obtained funds, set aside to help struggling small and local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. O'Daffer spent the funds on a recreational vehicle and a cross-country road trip. Then, while on pretrial release following his arrest, Mr. O'Daffer disappeared until he was arrested again a few months later," stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. "I am grateful for the excellent investigative work of the Secret Service and the COVID-19 Strike Force to hold Mr. O'Daffer accountable. My office's White-Collar team will continue to vigorously prosecute those who abuse and misuse COVID-19 funding."

This case was investigated by the Eastern District of Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force, the U.S. Secret Service, Spokane Resident Office and San Francisco Field Office, and the SBA OIG. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy Kelly and Tyler H.L. Tornabene prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.