Reports

BOSTON – A Florida woman has pleaded guilty to her involvement in a multi-state scheme to obtain millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for herself and others by submitting fraudulent applications to PPP lenders.

Jose “Joe” Biaou, 42, a citizen of Benin and a resident of the District, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 84 months in federal prison in connection with a scheme to defraud Covid-era economic programs out of millions of dollars in taxpayer-provided emergency funds, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Greenbelt, Maryland – A former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee received a federal-prison term for a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act scheme that enabled him to illegally obtain more than $176,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Simeon Bakare, 56, of Waldorf, Maryland, to six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, including two months of home detention, for a wire-fraud charge in connection with the scheme.

Baltimore, Maryland – A former Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) insider received a federal-prison term, today, for scheming to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance (UI) claim benefits during the COVID-19 Pandemic. U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Katrina McCant, 41, of Baltimore, to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

ABINGDON, Va. – A pair of Virginia residents pleaded guilty recently to filing false claims for pandemic unemployment benefits authorized by the CARES Act. The CARES Act is a federal law, enacted in March of 2020, that was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thonton Snapp, 50, of Bristol, Virginia, and Jacob Michael Testerman, 36, of Abingdon, Virginia, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and commit an offense against the United States by filing fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment...

Karin L. Contreras, 45, a citizen of the Dominican Republic and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 27 months in prison in connection with her role in a scheme that attempted to defraud unemployment insurance programs during the COVID‑19 pandemic of more than $1 million, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

TONYA BARHAM, 63, of Hamden, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to an offense stemming from a pandemic relief program fraud scheme.

Hugh A. Brown, Jr. was sentenced to federal prison today for fraudulently obtaining roughly $1.25 million in pandemic relief and auto loans.