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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thomas O. Crowell, 35, of Canal Winchester, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 188 months in prison for committing narcotics, firearms and financial fraud crimes. A federal jury convicted Crowell in January 2024.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Following four days of testimony before a federal jury, a Raleigh man and business owner pled guilty to a Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud, that netted the man almost $300,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Act (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 26 have been sentenced.

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey tax preparer was charged in a sixteen-count indictment for using false information to increase client tax refunds, and fraudulently obtaining money from Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).

An indictment was unsealed yesterday in the Northern District of Texas charging two co-founders of Blueacorn, a lender service provider, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A former Blue Springs, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today for her role in a conspiracy that resulted in more than $220,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two people have been indicted for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funding on behalf of a West Virginia resident, according to United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. Kimberly VanKline, 56, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Rhonda Brown-Moore, 64, of Brooklyn, New York, were indicted yesterday for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to the improper receipt of funds from the COVID Relief Act.

YASIR G. HAMED, 59, of Woodbridge, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with offenses stemming from an alleged scheme to defraud a COVID-19 pandemic relief program of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On Nov. 8, a federal jury convicted Lazaro Verdecia Hernandez, 37, and Yadier Rodriguez Arteaga, 41, both of Miami, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering, in connection with a scheme to obtain fraudulent loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Verdecia was also convicted of wire fraud.

Geary Simon, 71, of Washington, D.C., entered a guilty plea today to one count of wire fraud in connection with a presidentially declared disaster or emergency and to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The guilty plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2024 for fraud and false statements charges in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

A North Carolina woman was indicted by a federal grand jury today for fraudulently obtaining a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Stephen L. Gurba (68, Belleair) with wire fraud, making a false statement to a financial institution, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Gurba faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud (2 counts), 30 years in prison on the false statement count, and a 2-year mandatory term of imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft counts (2 counts). The indictment also notifies Gurba that the United States intends to forfeit approximately $1.2 million, which...

Yesterday, Daniel Fleureme, 56, of Miami-Dade County, a former Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCRD) Corrections Officer, pled guilty to wire fraud for defrauding a COVID-19 relief program by fraudulently obtaining an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Shirley Waller has been accused of aiding a romance fraud conspiracy and committing a nearly $40,000 pandemic relief loan fraud as well as a separate mortgage fraud.

PROVIDENCE, RI – United States Attorney Zachry A. Cunha announced today that a Rhode Island mortgage broker who purported to match borrowers seeking short-term loans with private lenders seeking high rates of return admitted to a federal judge that he misappropriated more than $1.5 million dollars of investors’ funds by using the money to repay earlier investors, support his own international investment opportunities, and to cover personal expenses.

TRENTON N.J. – A New York man was convicted for conspiring to illegally obtain over $570,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

Orlando, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Robert William Burns, III (44, Rockledge) has pleaded guilty to COVID-19-related wire fraud. Burns faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Baltimore, Maryland – On October 23, 2024, Tomeka Glenn, a/k/a “Tomeka Harris” and “Tomeka Davis,” age 47, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard D. Bennett to 65 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release in connection with her conviction on conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to the submission of millions of dollars in fraudulent COVID-19 CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications. Judge Bennett also directed Glenn to pay restitution in the amount of $3,016,275.62.

On Oct. 23, a federal jury in Miami convicted Tracy Wade, 51 and Carolyn Wade, 49, both former deputy sheriffs with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to make false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA), and making false statements to the SBA, all in connection with obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans based on false information.

Two Riverside County women were arrested today on a 23-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they and two men schemed to defraud a COVID-19 pandemic-relief program out of more than $3 million by helping others fraudulently obtain COVID business loans in exchange for a cut of the illicit proceeds.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Marina Tusca Brooks Stewart (61, Groveland) on an indictment charging her with one count of wire fraud related to COVID relief. If convicted, Brooks Stewart faces up to 20 years in federal prison. In addition, she faces a forfeiture order of $10,000, which represents the alleged proceeds she obtained through this offense.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Carnisha Maurica Rogers (30, Jacksonville) with four counts involving conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, and four counts of false representation of a Social Security number involving a line of credit scheme and COVID relief fraud through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Rogers faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count involving wire fraud and up to 5 years in federal prison on each count involving the false representation of a Social Security number...

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Larry Jordan, 45, of Lancaster, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud for his participation in a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications seeking forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, joined the announcement. # # # #

NEWARK, N.J. – A former resident of Monmouth County admitted his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.

Camille Foster fraudulently obtained five Paycheck Protection Program loans between May 2020 and November 2021.

BOSTON – A Lawrence woman was sentenced in federal court in Boston for using stolen identities of taxpayers and businesspeople to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a bank, and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Lester John Parker, Jr. (55, Lehigh Acres) on a 15-count indictment related to his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Parker’s charges include one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. If convicted, Parker faces up to 20 years in...

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Thakur Sukhdeo (38, Lehigh Acres) with wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, Sukhdeo faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each illegal monetary transaction count. The indictment also notifies Sukhdeo that the United States intends to forfeit a 2018 Jaguar F-Pace, 2020 GMC Sierra 3500 HD, and $414,000, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.

Baltimore, Maryland – David Epstein, age 46, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, relating to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a Maryland man on federal charges related to a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million dollars in unemployment benefits. On May 22, 2024, a grand jury returned an indictment of Mervyn Fombe Abiko, a/k/a “Magic,” a 35-year-old Maryland man with conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The indictment was unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendant.

SAN DIEGO – A federal jury convicted San Diego restaurant owner Leronce Suel of wire fraud, conspiracy, and tax crimes for providing bogus information in applications for COVID relief programs and failing to report more than $1.7 million in revenue to the IRS.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jacob Liticker, 27, of Houston, Texas was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, federal inmate Jonathan Henry, age 32, was sentenced to 97 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release and restitution in the amount of $1,894,971 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, relating to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act unemployment insurance benefits. Henry’s co-defendant, Kenneth Dodd, was previously sentenced to 42 months imprisonment for his role in the offense, which he will serve consecutively to previous sentences he is currently serving as a result of prior federal felony...

ZISHAN ALVI caused claims to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Covid-19 tests that were not performed as billed.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida woman today admitted fraudulently obtaining $465,489 in COVID-19 relief funding after submitting fraudulent applications to victim lenders.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Henry Troy Wade (47, Ocala) guilty of six counts of wire fraud. Wade faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 2025. A federal grand jury had returned an indictment against Wade on November 22, 2022.

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).