Woodward Man Sentenced to Prison for COVID-19 Fraud Offenses

DES MOINES, IA – A Woodward man was sentenced on Thursday, October 20, 2022, to 12 months and one day in prison for wire fraud and false statements to the United States Small Business Association (SBA).

According to court documents, John Richard Stidolph, age 66, submitted numerous false applications to the SBA for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Over the course of approximately one year, he submitted four fraudulent applications and received $359,800 from the SBA. As part of Stidolph’s sentence, he was ordered to pay restitution to the SBA and serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.