Reports

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that IRVIN C. FRANCOIS, III (“FRANCOIS”), age 53, of New Orleans, was indicted on June 20, 2025 for making false statements, and money laundering, related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

TONY STERLIN CANTAVE, 45, of Shelton, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven for defrauding a COVID-19 pandemic relief program.

A federal jury convicted Stephanie Hockridge, a founder of the lender service provider Blueacorn, on Friday in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

RALEIGH, N.C. – Earl Lamont Taylor, 52, was sentenced to six years in prison Monday and will be ordered to pay over half a million dollars in restitution to the Small Business Administration. Taylor went to trial in November and ultimately pled guilty to one count each of bank fraud and wire fraud while the jury was deliberating. He received almost $300,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 loans. This fraud was part of a multimillion-dollar national scheme, and, to date, more than 30 defendants have pled guilty and 29 have been sentenced.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Jemel Lyles, 43, of Washington, DC, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges in federal court. In his guilty plea, Lyles admitted to submitting applications for and receiving funds from six fraudulent CARES Act loans.

An Inland Empire woman was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $1.7 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related jobless benefits, federally-guaranteed small business loans, California Small Business COVID-19 relief grants, and Los Angeles County economic opportunity grants.

“At the height of the Covid pandemic, ZISHAN ALVI disregarded public health concerns in favor of greed,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros

To learn how communities across the nation responded to the pandemic, we initiated a multi-part review of six communities—two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations. This report is the sixth community-specific report and focuses on our work in Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation in New Mexico, where we previously identified that recipients, including city government, small businesses, and individuals, received almost $80 million from 42 pandemic relief programs and subprograms. This report provides a closer look at ten pandemic programs and subprograms provided to Jicarilla...

A New Jersey man admitted to fraudulently obtaining approximately $617,991 in federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”) and Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans.

A former Small Business Administration (SBA) employee who fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief money to spend on luxury items was sentenced on June 13.