FORMER STOCKTON MAYOR Anthony Silva is facing federal charges of bank fraud and identity theft arising from an allegedly fraudulent loan application that he filed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The charges, filed Aug. 15 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, allege Silva attempted to defraud by making misstatements in applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan on behalf of his business, Indoor Adventures, in April 2020. PPP loans were offered through the Small Business Administration to help businesses stay afloat amid sales declines during the pandemic.

The program required that any applicant with more than 20% ownership interest had never been either convicted of a felony in the previous five years nor on probation for having committed one. Yet Silva had been convicted of a felony in May 2019, court records show. He had been sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years probation, which would have made him ineligible for a loan.

The former mayor has faced myriad felony charges in the past, including embezzlement, grand theft and weapons-related charges, though most were reduced or dropped. As part of a plea deal, he had pleaded guilty in 2019 to one felony charge of a conflict-of-interest in his position as mayor to funnel city tax dollars to a nonprofit he headed, the Boys & Girls Club of Stockton, now known as the Stockton Kids Club.

Silva was Stockton’s mayor from 2013 to 2016. He has remained a prominent public figure in Stockton, even running for City Council last year, though never advancing out of the March primary. He came in third place in his bid for City Council’s District 2 seat, which was ultimately won by Councilmember Mariela Ponce, coming in just 100 votes behind the second-place finisher.

Still active in politics

His most recent public appearance was at a Stockton City Council meeting last week, introducing himself as the “former people’s mayor of Stockton,” where he voiced support for current-Mayor Christina Fugazi and former embattled interim City Manager Steve Colangelo.

“I want to extend my steadfast support to Mayor Fugazi,” he said. “She was my vice mayor, as many of you know, and so I have unwavering leadership for her, as she remains a person of integrity, and I’m here to continue to support her.”

As for his current charges, Silva is alleged to have received a $17,000 loan while fraudulently representing his business, Indoor Adventures, was under a majority ownership of 85% by another unnamed person, court records show. He later applied to have the loan forgiven, a request granted as part of the program.

Indoor Adventures, an indoor children’s playground on Benjamin Holt Drive in Stockton, is listed as permanently closed online. The playground’s phone number was out of order as of Tuesday afternoon, while both its website and Facebook page appear to no longer be active.

In addition to possible forfeiture of the loan proceeds, Silva faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million on the bank fraud charge. If convicted of identity theft, he could be ordered to serve a mandatory two years in prison to be served consecutively to any time on the bank fraud charge.

Silva’s attorney, Kresta Nora Daly out of Winters, did not immediately respond to Stocktonia’s request for comment. Attempts to contact Silva directly Tuesday afternoon were also unsuccessful.

This story originally appeared in Stocktonia.