Rochester man gets more than 12 years on Covid fraud, child porn charges

CONCORD - A Rochester man was sentenced Friday in federal court for submitting fraudulent applications for COVID-19 pandemic relief funds using stolen identities and for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Heath Gauthier, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Laplante to 145 months in federal prison and 5 years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $202,507 in restitution with $196,507 being paid to the Small Business Administration and $6,000 to two CSAM survivors, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

On Feb. 22, Gauthier pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of attempted wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of possession of child pornography.

"The defendant possessed more than one thousand images of child sex abuse material and stole people's identities to submit numerous fraudulent applications for COVID relief funds intended for individuals and businesses that suffered financial harm as a result of the pandemic," said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. "The defendant not only stole hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars and undermined the public confidence in pandemic relief programs, but also preyed on the most vulnerable members of society, children. The sentence imposed today sends a clear message that those who possess child sex abuse material or steal from taxpayers will be incarcerated in fderal prison for long periods of time."

Between February 2020 and March 2021, Gauthier fraudulently applied for more than a dozen loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs, according to the Young. Gauthier applied for loans for non-existent companies and used the identities of more than 10 deceased individuals in his applications, listing them in some applications as owners or employees of the fictitious companies. He also submitted false documents, including fabricated tax documents and counterfeit driver's licenses to support his fraudulent applications. In total Gauthier applied for more than $1 million in CARES Act loan funds.

On February 16, 2023, investigators executed a search warrant on his residence, where they seized and later searched Gauthier's electronic devices. During the search, investigators discovered more than 1,500 files that contained CSAM.

"What Heath Gauthier did is disgraceful. This convicted sex offender possessed more than 1,500 images of child sexual abuse material on his computer and stole the identities of more than 10 dead people so he could blatantly defraud a government program meant to keep businesses and workers afloat during the pandemic," said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. "Anyone who thinks exploiting children and defrauding American taxpayers is acceptable, better think twice, because the FBI and our partners stand ready to bring you to justice."

IRS Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Hunter and Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.