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Greenbelt , Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Alonzo Brown, 27, of Richmond, Virginia, to 45 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor and California Employment Development Department.

"Our Office is proud to partner with the Department of Justice in the largest health care fraud takedown in our District’s history,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros.

Royce Newcomb, 62, of Fresno, was sentenced today to five years and 10 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering charges in a long-running fraud scheme where he stole $4.2 million from investors, lenders, and the federal government.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Darnell William King, age 42, was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release following his plea in May to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the indictment and information presented in court, King entered into separate conspiracies to commit Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud and to use stolen identities to obtain personal lines of credit from various private lenders in and around Wake County. King was also ordered to pay restitution to the...

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jon M. Hallford, 45, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,070,413.74 in restitution for a conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

BROOKLYN, NY – A federal grand jury in Brooklyn yesterday returned a second superseding indictment that added charges against Linda Sun and her husband and co-defendant Chris Hu related to a fraudulent scheme involving procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the New York State (NYS) government at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the scheme, Sun steered contracts to vendors with whom she had undisclosed personal connections, and she and Hu received millions of dollars from the vendors, including some in the form of kickbacks, which Sun did not disclose to the NYS...

BOSTON – A Los Angeles man who formerly resided in Randolph, Mass. has pleaded guilty to submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications on behalf of multiple companies he owns and controls.

A Kansas City, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for her leadership role in two cases that resulted in more than $900,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced that Paris Lashay Haynes, age 28, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to wire fraud.

A Middlesex County, New Jersey, woman admitted that she fraudulently obtained Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”), Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), and pandemic unemployment insurance benefits.

Baltimore , Maryland – U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced David Godin, 34, of Miami, Florida, aka “James St Patrick,” “David Wetty,” and “Vic Pro,” to 78 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Godin pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). Judge Maddox also ordered Godin to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,087,345.66 and restitution of $1,137,894.56.

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.

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).

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

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.

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.

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

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 32, of Pennsylvania, has been charged with six counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

CINCINNATI – A West Chester couple pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to committing wire fraud to obtain pandemic relief funds. The husband and wife were owners or associates of multiple transportation firms.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the indictment and arrests of Earlisha Louis (44, Newnan, Georgia) and Somoza Louis (44, Newnan, Georgia) for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud related to COVID-19 relief funds. If convicted, each faces up to 30 years in federal prison on each count. Earlisha Louis is also charged with two counts of illegal monetary transactions. Each of those counts carry a maximum penalty of 3 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the pair that the United States intends to forfeit a...

KAREN GASTON, 44, of East Granby, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud COVID-19 pandemic relief programs of more than $1.1 million.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Frank Adriel Romero Leandro (34, Ocala) with wire fraud and price gouging. If convicted, Romero faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense and up to 1 year in federal prison for the price gouging offense. The indictment also notifies Romero that the United States intends to forfeit $1,234,360.46, which are funds that are alleged to be traceable as proceeds of the offenses.

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Richard Nieto, age 39, of Morrison, Colorado, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $962,438.85 in restitution for engaging in wire fraud and money laundering in connection with obtaining two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The founder of a now-shuttered non-profit organization has been indicted on federal charges alleging he bribed then-Orange County Supervisor Andrew Hoang Do to obtain approximately $12 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related funds, pocketed the bulk of that money, then laundered it to avoid detection by law enforcement, the Justice Department announced today.

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that William Chadwick, 62, of Akron, Colorado, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of Money Laundering and agreed to repay the fraudulent proceeds he laundered from COVID-19 relief programs.

Angelo Stephen, 33, a former Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer, and George Arestuche, 47, a former Miami-Dade County Aviation Department employee, were sentenced in separate cases after pleading guilty to defrauding COVID-19 relief programs.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Carnisha Maurica Rogers (30, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of false representation of a Social Security number (SSN) involving a line of credit scheme, and one count of wire fraud involving COVID relief fraud through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Rogers faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count involving wire fraud, up to 5 years’ imprisonment on the false representation of an SSN count, and payment of restitution to the victims she...

A New Jersey man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $149,900 in federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”) loans.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Joseph Giannini, 54, of Chicago, IL, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Fourteen defendants – including San Fernando Valley and Glendale residents – were arrested on two federal criminal complaints alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $25 million in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief funds and federally-guaranteed small business loans.

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Robert Crust, age 46, formerly of Greeley, Colorado, and Bethany Williams, age 44, of Parker, Colorado, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Colorado.

Cymone McClellan and Terra Davis have admitted submitting $2.3 million worth of false and fraudulent meal reimbursement claims to Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Joseph Ronald Trenkle, 54, formerly of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and currently of Dorado, Puerto Rico, has been charged in a criminal information with one count each of wire fraud and money launderin

Yesterday, Tramaine Liptrot, 43, a police officer with the City of Miami Police Department (MPD) who has been relieved of duty, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling over $200,000.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Ronnie Lamar Strawberry, Jr., 39, of Los Angeles, California was sentenced on May 19, 2025, by Senior United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $528,426 in restitution. Strawberry pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. His sister, Raychelle Strawberry, who pleaded guilty to the same charge, was sentenced on the same day to 60 months of probation for her role in the offense.

BOSTON – A couple from Randolph, Mass., has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded dozens of individual investors out of millions of dollars.

A Georgia man was arrested today in connection with his role in 15 fraudulent COVID-19 relief loan applications administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, totaling more than $3.39 million in fraudulent loan proceeds.

The last of three defendants made his initial appearance in Miami federal court yesterday to face an indictment charging the men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud while scheming to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

Greenbelt , Maryland – Today, Vincent Ford, 22, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and oxycodone; possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon; and wire fraud, in connection with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.