Reports

BOSTON – A Florida woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to defrauding a Massachusetts housing agency where she worked in 2022, along with defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with the pandemic Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

An Illinois man pleaded guilty today for his role in a COVID-19 testing fraud scheme.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida remains a leader in COVID-19 pandemic relief prosecutions, holding a range of actors accountable for these crimes. Over this summer alone, the district has charged 17 individuals with COVID-19 relief fraud cases, with scheme amounts totaling over $21 million.

Shahied Golden, 29, filed a fraudulent PPP loan application, listing a false gross income for 2020 and falsely stated the loan proceeds were needed to make payroll payments for his alleged business.

An indictment accuses Anthony Virdure II of stealing checks with a face value of more than $1.5 million from the mail.

Cymone McClellan was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on four felony counts of wire fraud.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $4.8 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for himself and others.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Carmine G. Agnello pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with his receipt of approximately $1.1 million in small business loans under the United States Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program .