Canadian living in Florida sentenced in US$8M COVID-19 fraud case

The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Julia Demaree Nikhinson

A Canadian man living in Florida has been sentenced by a United States judge for federal offences related to visa fraud and obtaining more than US$8 million in COVID-19 aid, nearly four years after his arrest, NBC reported on Wednesday. He will likely be deported following his prison term, his lawyer says.

In a press release published in December 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Middle District of Florida said Evan Edwards, 64, and Joshua Edwards, 30, of New Smyrna Beach were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and visa fraud, facing a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on each count. Joshua Edwards was also charged with making a “false statement to a lending institution.”

“The United States previously obtained seizure warrants and recovered more than $8 million in proceeds from the charged criminal conduct,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Following a yearslong ordeal that involved multiple psychiatric evaluations, Joshua Edwards was sentenced to four years and three months in prison Tuesday, after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud, NBC reported.

Charges against Evan Edwards were dropped in March 2025 when he was determined “incompetent to stand trial.” Edwards was reportedly suffering from “moderate to severe dementia and significant and permanent cognitive deficits,” in addition to other physical ailments, a magistrate judge said in court papers cited by NBC.

According to the indictment from 2022, the father-son duo conspired to and committed bank fraud by submitting a fraudulent loan application to an insured lending institution on behalf of a non-profit corporation called Aslan that supposedly provided “religious services.”

“In the loan application, the defendants significantly overstated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for Aslan, claiming that it had almost 500 employees and over $2 million in average monthly payroll expenses,” the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “They also falsely certified in the loan application that the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funds would be used to maintain payroll and for other authorized purposes.”

The duo received approximately $8,417,200 in loan funds, some of which they used as a down payment to purchase a “multi-million-dollar residence” for themselves, the press release said.

In addition to that, Evan and Joshua Edwards were accused of making a “materially false statement” in immigration documents, including their applications to register as a permanent resident in the U.S.