Retired State Police Sergeant Sentenced In Loan Fraud Case

BOSTON, MA — A retired Massachusetts State Police sergeant was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan that was later forgiven, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on Monday.

Damian Halfkenny, 54, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to one year of probation. Halfkenny also was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, $21,333 in restitution, and forfeit $21,333. He pleaded guilty after being charged in April 2026 with one count of wire fraud.

According to prosecutors, Halfkenny was employed full time as a Sergeant with the Massachusetts State Police in 2021, earning an annual salary of $160,378. He also owned several rental properties in Boston that he operated as a real estate business. Prosecutors said the business had no employees.

Court documents state that Halfkenny applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan in March 2021, falsely claiming his real estate business had average monthly payroll expenses of $8,488. Prosecutors alleged he supported the application by submitting a fabricated 2019 IRS Schedule C, which he emailed to the president of the lending bank one day after filing the loan application.

Based on those alleged misrepresentations, the U.S. Small Business Administration approved a $21,220 PPP loan, which was later forgiven. According to prosecutors, the loan proceeds were deposited into a newly opened bank account on March 8, 2021.

Federal authorities alleged Halfkenny spent the funds in less than two months, including writing two $7,000 checks to himself, withdrawing $5,000 in cash, and making a $2,118.28 mortgage interest payment on one of his rental properties. Prosecutors also said Halfkenny later certified that the loan proceeds had been used for payroll expenses to obtain loan forgiveness, despite the business having no employees.

United States Attorney Leah Foley and Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division, announced the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.