Two Indian-origin men in the U.S., Nishant Patel and Harjeet Singh, have pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme related to obtaining forgivable Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) loans under the CARES Act. The Department of Justice revealed that Patel, 41, secured a false PPP loan of about $474,993, while Singh, 49, obtained two false PPP loans totaling $937,379. The fraud involved submitting false loan applications and laundering the funds through fake paychecks cashed at controlled check-cashing stores. Three other individuals participated, obtaining over $1.4 million. The defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for January 4, 2024.