FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Roderick Billingslea, a 30-year-old resident of Dacula, was sentenced Aug. 13 to 2 years and 6 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and operating illegal trucking businesses. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May.
Billingslea’s actions began in January 2020 when the Department of Transportation (DOT) ordered his trucking business, Billingslea’s Inc., to cease operations due to multiple safety violations. He was also prohibited from creating any successor trucking entities. However, Billingslea defied this order by filing multiple registrations with the DOT for new trucking entities, using false owners and fake addresses. He then operated these illegal businesses by stealing the corporate identities of legitimate trucking companies.
To sustain these fraudulent operations, Billingslea applied for and received a PPP loan of $564,363 in June 2020. He falsely claimed in his application that he was not barred from operating a trucking business and inflated the number of employees and monthly wages. In April 2022, he further compounded his fraud by submitting false tax documents to obtain forgiveness of the loan.
Billingslea was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of falsification of records on April 11, 2024, after pleading guilty. In addition to his prison sentence, Billingslea was ordered to pay $591,668.89 in restitution and cover the cost of his incarceration, estimated at $49,770 annually. Following his release, he will serve three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan emphasized the severity of Billingslea’s crimes, stating, "Billingslea falsified documents to receive PPP funds to operate illegal and unsafe businesses that he was ordered to stop operating. He has now been held accountable for his crimes. But our office’s work continues in collaboration with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who defraud the United States Government, including by stealing funds from PPP and other important programs."
The case was investigated by the Department of Transportation – Office of the Inspector General, Small Business Administration – Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane C. Schulman prosecuted the case.