Desjon Antione Lang Burke
Introduction
Desjon Antione Lang Burke, who resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty on October 28, 2026, to one count of wire fraud for a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) out of nearly $54,166 in PPP and EIDL loan money that Burke was not entitled to receive. The maximum statutory penalty is 20 years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 3, 2027, before Chief United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon.
Background Information
According to court documents, the scheme ran from about January 18, 2021, to about August 23, 2022. Across that window, Burke fraudulently submitted an application for an EIDL loan to the SBA and two applications for PPP loans to a non-bank direct commercial lender. The applications contained false and fraudulent information, including that Burke was the sole proprietor of a non-profit agricultural business that did not exist; that the business employed 10 people, which it did not; and false information regarding the business revenue received and costs incurred by the non-existent company. The release provides no further biographical information about Burke beyond the two places of residence.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Pleaded guilty; sentencing pending.
The device at the center of the case was a business that never existed. Burke claimed to be the sole proprietor of a nonprofit agricultural business, complete with a workforce of ten employees and stated revenue and cost figures, but every element of that profile was false, according to the court documents. The three applications — one EIDL loan application to the SBA and two PPP loan applications to a non-bank direct commercial lender — carried those fabricated details between about January 18, 2021, and about August 23, 2022.
On April 13, 2021, Burke submitted an application for a PPP loan supported by a fake Schedule C form for tax year 2019 — the tax form that would ordinarily establish a sole proprietor’s income. In total, the scheme netted nearly $54,166 in PPP and EIDL loan money that Burke was not entitled to receive, drawn from programs created to keep genuinely struggling businesses afloat during a public health crisis.
Burke pleaded guilty on October 28, 2026, to one count of wire fraud, an offense carrying a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for February 3, 2027, before Chief United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon, so the final consequences — any prison term, repayment, or other penalty — remain undetermined. The plea is an admission to the wire fraud count built on the fraudulent applications described in the court documents.
The scheme was small in dollar terms but deliberate in design: a nonexistent nonprofit agricultural operation, a phantom payroll of ten, invented revenue and cost figures, and a fabricated tax form, all assembled to extract pandemic relief money. Nothing in the release suggests any legitimate agricultural business ever operated.
Public Reaction and Consequences
“We will never tolerate thieves who stole from the American people during one of the most painful crises in our nation’s history,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “This defendant shamelessly used a global pandemic as a personal piggy bank, stripping vital lifelines away from struggling workers and honest business owners who genuinely needed help to survive. Today’s guilty plea ensures he will face the full consequence of his greed. Let this serve as an unmistakable warning to anyone who thinks they got away with pandemic fraud: we are still watching, we are still tracking you down, and we will not rest until every single dollar is recovered and every fraudster is behind bars.”
“Abusing federal programs supporting small businesses is intolerable,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, which “remains steadfast in tracking down and investigating anyone who attempts to defraud government programs created to keep business afloat.”
Current Status
Burke has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing on February 3, 2027, before Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon, on the single wire fraud count with its 20-year statutory maximum. The case was investigated by the FBI, the SBA OIG, and the Federal Reserve Board-CFPB Office of Inspector General, and Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Frayn is prosecuting the case. Until sentencing, the plea and the charge are the only fixed outcomes; the release describes no detention status, restitution amount, or other conditions.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The conviction by plea ties Burke’s name publicly to a fabricated nonprofit agricultural business with a phantom payroll, in a federal fraud prosecution in the District of Nevada. The February 3, 2027 sentencing will determine whether prison time follows, with 20 years the statutory ceiling, and prosecutors have pledged not to rest until “every single dollar is recovered” and “every fraudster is behind bars.” Beyond the plea and the pending sentence, the release describes no other career or personal consequences.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, “Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Loan Fraud Scheme”, October 28, 2026 — source