Christian McKenzie, of Wheatley Heights, sentenced to 2½ years in prison for COVID relief fraud

A Wheatley Heights man was sentenced on Tuesday to 2½ years in prison for his role  in a scheme to steal nearly $3 million in pandemic business-relief loans.

In Brooklyn federal court, Christian McKenzie, 48, also was ordered to pay restitution of $122,275 and criminal forfeiture of $55,444. After leaving prison, he will serve 2 years' probation.

Last year, McKenzie, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

McKenzie helped his cousin, John Bolden, a former NYPD homicide detective from Valley Stream, defraud the Paycheck Protection Program between May 2020 and September 2022. The program offered forgivable bank loans to businesses so they could keep paying their employees when the coronavirus shut down much of the economy, according to federal prosecutors.

Bolden, 47, was sentenced last month in the same Brooklyn courtroom to four years in prison.

McKenzie received two PPP loans totaling $40,442 in 2020-21 by submitting false loan applications. He then helped friends and associates fraudulently win another $740,852 from the PPP, according to court filings.

McKenzie also received at least $15,000 in kickbacks from the friends and associates, the filings state.

McKenzie is among at least 35 Long Islanders who have been arrested for bilking more than $100 million from federal and state COVID-19 relief programs, such as the PPP, COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Employee Retention Credit, a Newsday analysis found.

"The acts of this defendant and his co-conspirators had the potential of crowding out deserving applicants who were unable to pay upkeep costs and the salaries of their legitimate employees," prosecutors said in a June 30 sentencing recommendation to the judge. "While defrauding any government program is wrong, it is particularly egregious to steal emergency funds during a national disaster."

McKenzie, in a June 22 letter to the judge, said he only agreed to participate in the fraud scheme after repeatedly being told by Bolden that they wouldn’t be breaking the law.

"I didn’t know that I was involved in anything illegal ... I am deeply ashamed and full of regret," McKenzie wrote.

The kickbacks he received were "a little ‘tip’ that I accepted" from the friends he steered to his cousin’s fraud scheme, he said.

McKenzie has worked as a medical courier, warehouse employee and sold sneakers online.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.