Reports

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that NIPUN DESAI (“DESAI”), formerly of Hammond, La., but now a California resident, age 55, pleaded guilty on July 10, 2024 before U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter to making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Non-Congregate Sheltering (NCS) Interim Policy 104-009-18 (Interim Policy) provided an adequate and effective framework during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the Interim Policy waived the existing pre-approval requirement, allowing for faster and increased NCS implementation to segregate individuals and families and limit spread of the disease. The Interim Policy also included program details and requirements for determining eligible work and costs for NCS in response to federally declared disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The independent public accounting firm of Brown & Company, CPAs and Management Consultants, PLLC, under contract with the Office of Inspector General, audited Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants administered by the Rhode Island Secretary of State, totaling $11.8 million. This included federal funds, state matching funds, and interest earned on the reissued Section 251, Election Security, and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grants.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this management advisory to bring attention to concerns regarding the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) post-award review process to monitor Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) award recipients’ eligibility, award calculation, and use of funds. The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established on December 27, 2020, as part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act (Economic Aid Act). The program was amended by the American Rescue Plan Act on March 11, 2021, which increased program...

Salt Lake City, Utah – Melvin Roy Hunter, 71, of Salt Lake County, was ordered by the court today to 14 months’ home detention as part of a 40 months’ probation sentence, and ordered to pay $105,301.30 in restitution.

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.