Charles Riley “Chuck” Constant, 54, of Allen, Texas, United States registered C2 LLC with the U.S. Treasury Department as a money services business. When he founded the Bitcoin automated teller machine operator Coindawg, he bought 18 cryptocurrency ATMs in Texas and Oklahoma, USA.

Chuck Constant and Coindawg

Amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Constant allegedly knowingly assisted others involved in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The suspects are accused of using false identities and nonexistent companies to obtain seven Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the SBA.

The loan proceeds were transferred directly from the SBA to a bank account held by C2 LLC. Constant used around $700,000 of the proceeds to purchase Bitcoin from a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in New York City, New York, USA and directed it to distribute the Bitcoin to his co-conspirators.

Moreover, Constant stole the remaining $300,000 of fraud proceeds and transferred $53,000 of it to a third bank account held by C2 LLC and an additional $98,300 to an account in his name at a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in California, USA. On March 23, 2023, he was arrested and presented before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Texas. 

In connection with Constant’s arrest, law enforcement agents seized Coindawg’s website and 18 cryptocurrency ATMs, among others. He was charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering, theft of public money and interstate receipt of stolen money. 

SBA and EIDL

Formed on July 30, 1953, the SBA is an independent agency of the U.S. government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. In 2020, the agency’s EIDL started providing funding to help small businesses recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On January 1, 2022, the SBA stopped accepting applications for new COVID-19 EIDL loans or advances. On May 6, 2022, the agency stopped processing COVID-19 EIDL loan increase requests or requests for reconsideration of previously declined loan applications.