BAKER CITY — The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Oregon has accused a Baker City man of setting up a fictitious company to receive a federal COVID-19 loan and then using the money for personal purposes, including buying a $50,000 car. Jeremy Clawson, 31, faces a federal charge of theft of government property.

Clawson took advantage of the the Small Business Administration’s economic relief programs through Economic Injury Disaster Loans and the Paycheck Protection Program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Billy Williams.

According to court documents, on Aug. 11, the proceeds of an EIDL totaling $145,200 were deposited into an Umpqua Bank account that Clawson and his girlfriend owned. Shortly after receiving the deposit, Clawson began making multiple large cash withdrawals at the drive-thru window of the Umpqua Bank in Baker City. On Aug. 17, Clawson withdrew $49,905 in the form of a cashier’s check to purchase a 2016 Dodge Challenger. Umpqua Bank investigators detected the unusual activity and reported it to the SBA.

SBA loan documents showed the loan was for the benefit of Halperin Manufacturing Company in San Diego, California. Though there is no record of any such company, the loan application listed the company’s owner and claimed it employed 350 people, according to the press release. Investigators contacted the person listed as the owner, but that person denied owning or being affiliated with any such company. The purported owner further stated the company’s supposed address in San Diego was that individual’s personal residence and not a commercial property with 350 employees.

In early September 2020, investigators learned the Baker City Police Department in late August arrested Clawson for driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and attempting to elude police. Clawson was driving the 2016 Dodge Challenger at the time of his arrest. Clawson later told authorities he had received a large inheritance from his father, including $30,000 in cash he had on his person during a subsequent arrest.

On Sept. 11, investigators interviewed Clawson at the Baker County Jail where he was incarcerated on an unrelated charge. Clawson claimed to have received the $145,200 from a woman with whom he had an online dating relationship, the press release stated. He further claimed he didn’t know what to do with the money and, after he stopped communicating with the woman, he began spending the money. Clawson admitted to using the SBA money to purchase the Dodge Challenger and several other vehicles.

The United States District Court issued a warrant for Clawson’s arrest, seized the Dodge Challenger and approximately $50,000 in cash derived from the fraudulent EIDL pursuant to seizure warrants issued by the federal court and voluntary abandonment of funds in third parties’ possession. The SBA and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case.

Meanwhile, Clawson began serving a prison sentence in mid-October at Snake River Correctional Institution, Ontario, following his convictions for felony driving under the influence and attempting to elude the police stemming from his August 2020 arrest. Oregon Department of Corrections records show his release date is in December 2021.