Pandemic Fraud Conviction Can’t Be Appealed, First Circuit Rules

A man sentenced to more than four years in prison for his fraudulent Covid-19 relief loan scheme and run from justice waived his appeal rights, a court ruled.

David Staveley’s prison sentence included 44 months for conspiring to commit bank fraud through the scheme and 12 months for failing to appear when he staged a fake suicide and fled the state. The scheme between him and a co-conspirator involved submitting false loan applications on behalf of various entities to obtain Paycheck Protection Program funds.

Staveley argued that the appeal waiver in his plea ...