Reports

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby sentenced Andra Shirone Thompson, 48, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to a year and a day for two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Thompson pled guilty to conspiring to defraud Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act loan programs and his role in a years-long scheme to defraud commercial equipment financing companies

A Hampton woman was sentenced today to five years in prison for identity theft and leading a conspiracy to defraud the government and financial institutions for pandemic-related loans and other benefits.

A California man made his initial appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, today to face charges for a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $10 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act loans.

A Richmond man was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison for orchestrating successive schemes to defraud a COVID-19 relief program and steal funds through altered checks.

A McLean man pleaded guilty today to defrauding the Small Business Administration by fraudulently obtaining approximately $455,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.

A New York man was sentenced yesterday to 42 months in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme to obtain pandemic benefits using the stolen identities of at least 20 other people.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered IT Services Now LLC and O@sis Group LLC, located in McLean, and their CEO, Mustafa Khabir, 51, of Haymarket, to pay $1,052,227 for submitting fraudulent applications to obtain federally guaranteed loans through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that TRACIE L. MIXON, age 42, of Hammond, LA, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan to a bill of information for making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that TRACIE L. MIXON, age 42, of Hammond, LA, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan to a bill of information for making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Joe Slaiby, of Gainesville, agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a civil fraud case that alleged he falsified payroll and income documents to obtain loans through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for four businesses where he is the owner and President.

The Justice Department announced today the results of a coordinated, nationwide enforcement action to combat COVID-19 fraud, which included 718 enforcement actions – including federal criminal charges against 371 defendants – for offenses related to over $836 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud.

A Concord, California, woman was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for her leading role in a conspiracy to defraud at least five states of more than $3.5 million in pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits.

A Freeman man had his initial appearance today on charges of wire fraud, filing a false tax return, tax evasion, and making false statements to a financial institution.

A Virginia Beach woman pleaded guilty today to fraudulently obtaining unemployment insurance (UI) benefits using personal identifiable information (PII) belonging to both Virginia Department of Corrections inmates and unwitting victims from the Norfolk area and out of state.

Zen Solutions Inc., a Virginia-based company, has agreed to pay approximately $31,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining more than one Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2020.

During our audit, we identified internal control and compliance findings that we believe are either directly, or indirectly, related to a lack of resources available for processing and adjudicating unemployment claims with the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency. To address the rapid rise in unemployment, the federal government provided additional federal funding to states and implemented several new unemployment-related benefits. The Commission struggled to adapt to these changes due to a lack of both staffing and technology resources. As a result, the Commission was not able to...

Our review was conducted for the purpose of determining whether the City was providing oversight and compliance in an economical, efficient, and effective manner, whether CARES Act goals and objectives were being achieved, and whether the City was complying with applicable Federal, State, City and Department Guidelines.

The primary objective of this internal audit was to conduct sub-recipient monitoring of ten CARES Act sub-recipients, in addition to the SkillsSource Group Inc., on behalf of the County. SkillSource was not a direct sub-recipient of CRF funds from the County. The County contracted with SkillSource as part of a Workforce Reskilling and Transition grant, utilizing CRF funds to fund the program. The testing period varied for each sub-recipient and can be located within the Detailed Results section of this report.

This review was completed as a non-audit service and does not constitute an audit conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. In agreement with management, we performed the following tasks: Reviewed practices for tracking COVID-19 related payroll and non-payroll expenditures; Reviewed the adequacy of tracking and systems/software for emergency management events; and Researched cost recovery funding sources for local government.