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The Department of Justice announced today new criminal charges, convictions, and sentences as part of its ongoing initiative to prosecute fraud in connection with various pandemic relief programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as other crimes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognized as a leader in pandemic relief fraud prosecutions, the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office has been selected to head one of three COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams nationally.

Yesterday, Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham sentenced 51-year-old Elisa Rivera to 60 days in federal prison, to be followed by 18 months of supervised release, after she pled guilty earlier this year to participating in a Covid-19 relief fraud conspiracy.

Miami-Dade resident Elisa Rivera, 50, pled guilty yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham to a felony Information charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to file fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration to COVID-19 relief advance grants and low-interest COVID-19 relief loans.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Louis Thornton III (63, St. Petersburg) to three years and six months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining money through various Covid-19 relief programs, including the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $814,632.50, the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme.

Orlando, Florida –U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Johnson W. Eustache to five years in federal prison for wire fraud and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The court also ordered Eustache to forfeit approximately $700,000 seized from several bank accounts, as well as real properties in Palm Bay and Poinciana, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense.

A Florida tax preparer was charged in an indictment filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania yesterday with scheming to fraudulently obtain more than $7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and pre-pandemic Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and to launder the proceeds of the illegal scheme.

Today, 58-year-old Miami-Dade County resident Willie Curry was sentenced to six months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge James Lawrence King after having pled guilty to wire fraud in connection with Curry's fraudulent application to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for a low-interest COVID-19 relief loan.