Defense attorneys push back at PPP fraud allegations

Ronald Kurpiers II, a Tampa attorney defending Alexander Leszczynski, a 22-year-old Redington Shores man accused of Paycheck Protection Program fraud, says he doesn’t know how his client will plead — a federal judge recently granted Kurpiers’ motion for a 90-day continuance — but if the case follows the precedent of hundreds of others Kurpiers has handled over his 35-year career, it will result in a guilty plea.

“The conviction rate by the feds is so high,” he says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was over 90%, so most (defendants plead guilty).”