37° and Partly cloudy
Image
Image capture from Google Maps Oct 2023. Stash's Pizza in Randolph used to operate at this location on 1160 N Main Street, but it has since closed and was sold in April 2021.
2-26-2025 9:54pm
Westwood Resident Pleads Guilty to Making False Statement to Secure Small Business Pandemic Relief Loan
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Westwood resident Stavros (Steve) Papantoniadis, owner of the greater Boston area chain called Stash’s Pizza, has pleaded guilty to submitting false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain a loan for a business that he no longer owned, announced the U.S Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts on Tuesday, February 25th.
Although Mr. Papantoniadis sold his pizzeria location in Randolph in April 2021, he applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from SBA for that same business between November 2021 to January 2022, says the U.S. Attorney’s office. The federal loan program was intended to provide relief to small businesses that suffered substantial economic injury during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Papantoniadis falsely stated that he still owned and operated the pizzeria in Randolph, even claiming that he then had 18 employees at the location. However, in reality, Papantoniadis had sold the business several months before he applied for the loan. Based on Papantoniadis’ false representations, the SBA approved the loan and sent Papantoniadis $499,900,” states a press release for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mr. Papantoniadis is currently in custody, serving a sentence of 8.5 years in prison and one year of supervised release, following his arrest in March 2021 and subsequent conviction in June 2024 on forced labor charges. In that case, a federal jury convicted Mr. Papantoniadis after evidence was presented to show that he had forced five men and one woman to work for him through violent physical abuse, threats of abuse, and repeated threats of reporting them to immigration authorities for deportation.
Under applicable U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes, the additional false statement charge that was announced this week provides for up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing for Mr. Papantoniadis is scheduled in federal district court for April 2, 2025.
In May 2021, the U.S. Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to provide a partnership between the Department of Justice and agencies across government to help combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
