Jose “Joe” Biaou, a 41-year-old citizen of Benin residing in Washington, D.C., was found guilty on seven counts related to defrauding federal Covid-19 relief programs out of millions of dollars. The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
A federal jury in the U.S. District Court reached its decision after less than a day of deliberation on February 17. Biaou was convicted on six counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
“Jose Biaou, a citizen of Benin, West Africa, was convicted of orchestrating massive fraud that siphoned millions of dollars from the American taxpayers at a time of national crisis when assistance was offered to those in need,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “The Trump Administration will not look the other way and will make thieves accountable. Mr. Biaou will suffer the consequence of his attempt to cheat the American taxpayers.”
Biaou founded FRB Capital Group LLC and faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced by Judge Christopher R. Cooper. The sentencing date has not yet been set. Sentencing guidelines are determined by Congress for informational purposes, but the final sentence is decided by the court using advisory guidelines and other legal factors.
According to evidence presented at trial, Biaou applied for more than $5 million in loans through pandemic-era aid programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). He received over $3.5 million for FRB Capital Group LLC and Millennium Global Finance—an entity prosecutors said did not exist.
Prosecutors stated that Biaou falsely claimed U.S. citizenship in support of his application for FRB Capital Group LLC, submitting a forged birth certificate created from his minor daughter’s document.
FRB Capital operates as a commercial real estate brokerage firm. In his funding applications, Biaou reportedly inflated employee numbers, monthly salaries, office rents, and other financial data for FRB Capital Group LLC. He also applied for loan forgiveness under PPP with false statements about how funds were used during the pandemic.
For Millennium Global Finance—which authorities say had no employees or operations—Biaou secured $1.25 million in PPP funds after stating it employed 52 people with an average monthly payroll exceeding $520,000 throughout 2019.
Law enforcement arrested Biaou on July 17, 2024.
The United States Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division investigated this case; prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Will Hart and Sungtae Kang along with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samanatha Miller.
