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Greenbelt, Maryland – Terry Chen, 25, of Prince George’s County, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with submitting fraudulent CARES Act unemployment insurance (UI) claims.

The government estimates that the overseas scammers stole over $1 million.

BOSTON – The founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the local nonprofit Violence in Boston (VIB) pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to making misrepresentations in order to obtain thousands of dollars in donations to non-profit Violence in Boston (VIB) that she then diverted to pay for personal expenses, defrauding the City of Boston out of COVID-19 relief funds and rental assistance money, defrauding the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office out of Community Reinvestment Grant funds, filing false tax return for two years, and failing to file tax returns for two years.

BOSTON – An Easton man was convicted today, following an eight-day trial of using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to secretly purchase a home in the name of a close relative.

A Maryland woman and a New York woman have admitted to fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funding on behalf of a West Virginia resident.Kimberly VanKline, 56, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Rhonda Brown-Moore, 65, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit wire fraud related to the improper receipt of funds from the COVID Relief Act.

Baltimore, Maryland – Natonia Johnson, 52, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty today, to one count of wire fraud in connection with a bribery scheme that she conducted as a Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) contractor to issue fraudulent unemployment insurance funds. Johnson assisted friends, family members, and strangers with fraudulently filing and obtaining UI benefits they were not eligible to receive in exchange for bribes and kickback payments.

Shahron Vaulx submitted eight fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications between May 2020 and June 2021.

Jamika Weese, a/k/a Jae, was sentenced to federal prison for operating a brothel out of an Atlanta apartment from which she transported women to other states for commercial sex. Weese also fraudulently obtained nearly $70,000 worth of federal loans intended to assist legitimate businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.