Reports

BOSTON – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston to conspiring to use stolen identities to fraudulently obtain disaster loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and to launder the funds.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ALICIA AYERS and ANDREA AYERS were sentenced today to two years in prison followed by six months of home confinement and 42 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements in connection with a scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), resulting in a loss to the SBA of approximately $1.7 million.

An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Florida charging three men for their alleged roles in an approximately $36 million health care fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering scheme that involved submitting false and fraudulent claims for COVID-19 testing to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program.

A Deepwater, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

CAMDEN, N.J. – Three individuals were indicted for their roles in fraudulently obtaining approximately $5 million of federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and for laundering the loan proceeds.

A Florida attorney has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution for participating in a scheme to illegally obtain funding from a federal COVID-19 small business relief program.

NEWARK, NJ. – Two New York men today admitted conspiring with others to defraud dozens of states to obtain millions of dollars of COVID-19 unemployment benefits; one of the defendants also admitted to fentanyl conspiracy and distribution and conspiring to defraud the IRS of tax credit benefits.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Donald Finley, a Locust Valley businessman and owner of the now-defunct Jekyll & Hyde theme restaurant in Manhattan and the Bayville Adventure Park on Long Island, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 24 months in prison. Finley pleaded guilty in May 2023 to disaster relief fraud and wire fraud in connection with his receipt of $3.2 million dollars in small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.

Camille Foster admitted obtaining five Paycheck Protection Program loans for a total of $104,163.

Brianna Bell-Maple, Jemyla Bell, and Leiah Vaughn have been accused of fraudulently obtaining $229,000 via 11 pandemic loans in 2021.