Santa Barbara dentist Ranjan Rajbanshi, 46, pleaded guilty on Monday, August 21, to stealing half a million dollars in COVID-19 relief money, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.
Rajbanshi ran Star Dental Group, a dental practice in Santa Barbara and Bakersfield, according to court records. From April 2020 to February 2022, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gave him $850,000 in COVID-19 relief money, which he attested would only be used for specified business purposes such as facility costs, payroll, and protective equipment for him and his staff.
However, Rajbanshi then used $500,000 of that money for what the U.S. Attorney’s Office described as “improper personal expenditures such as investments.” As part of his plea agreement, he must pay that money back to the government before his sentencing, which is scheduled for December 4 in U.S. District Court in Fresno.