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NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MUNIRA SCHOFIELD, age 28, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, was charged last week for her role in preparing and filing false applications for loans related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). SCHOFIELD was charged in a one-count bill of information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 1343. SCHOFIELD’s co-conspirators, Lynn Schofield and Bashir Schofield, were charged previously.

DENNIS W. HAGGERTY, JR. issued fraudulent payments from his Willowbrook-Ill.-based company’s bank account.

Doctor’s Hospital 1997 L.P. dba United Memorial Medical Center LLC (UMMC) has agreed to pay $2 million and to make additional contingent payments to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that TEMIKA SANTEMORE, age 44, a resident of Houston, Texas, was sentenced on December 12, 2023 to four months of probation by U.S. District Court Judge Jay C. Zainey after previously pleading guilty to making false statements and theft of government funds related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Tacoma – One of two Nigerian citizens who resided in Canada, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for defrauding pandemic unemployment benefit programs in multiple states, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging six individuals for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, relating to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act unemployment insurance (“UI”) claims. 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. The indictment was returned on October 24, 2023, and unsealed today upon the arrests of several defendants.

A downtown Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $150,000 – and attempted to obtain an additional $1.85 million – in COVID-relief loans for several companies he claimed to own and operate, and for illegally possessing firearms – including three AR-style rifles – and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Maryland man was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for illegally obtaining more than $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced Passion Lajodia Jackson (31, Ocala) to two years in federal prison for wire fraud related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. As part of the judgment, Jackson was ordered to forfeit $20,132, which represents the proceeds obtained from the offense. Jackson had pleaded guilty on September 11, 2023.

SAN JUAN, P.R. – On December 13, 2023, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned 11 separate indictments charging 11 individuals with the theft of federal-economic-impact payments from during the COVID-19 pandemic totaling $858,600, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB), and the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury (Hacienda).

Terence Aubrey Larker, 37, of Las Vegas, previously of Sacramento, was sentenced Tuesday to four years and 10 months in prison for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to defraud the Unemployment Insurance benefit program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Florida attorney has been convicted at trial for participating in a scheme to illegally obtain funding from a federal COVID-19 small business relief program.

Seattle - Paradise Williams, 29, the leader of a wide-ranging fraud scheme that stole more than $3.3 million from federally funded pandemic assistance programs and attempted to obtain more than $6.8 million, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and money laundering charges, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

A California man pleaded guilty yesterday to securities fraud, wire fraud, and obstruction of an official proceeding in connection with his scheme to defraud investors by making false and misleading statements about the purported development of a new, blood-based COVID-19 test, leading to millions of dollars in investor losses.

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that BASHIR SCHOFIELD, age 24, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Greg G. Guidry to a bill of information charging him with wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, for his role in preparing and filing false applications for loans related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

NEW ORLEANS - CYNTHIA CARONNA, a resident of Jefferson Parish, was sentenced on November 28, 2023, for conspiring with her co-defendant, Frank LaBruzzo, and with a resident of the United Kingdom, to defraud a business that was seeking to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

James Nolte, 52, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for wire fraud. According to court documents and statements made in court, Nolte fraudulently applied for and received CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $645,717.

SAN DIEGO – Constantin Bobi Sandu, who admitted that he masterminded a scheme to steal more than $5 million in California unemployment benefits intended to help workers affected by the pandemic, was sentenced in federal court today to 40 months in prison.

SAN DIEGO – Eduard Ghiocel and his wife, Floarea Ghiocel, were sentenced in federal court today to 36 months and 30 months, respectively, for laundering $1.4 million in proceeds from dozens of grand thefts, robberies and swindles targeting mostly elderly victims in San Diego County.

BOSTON – Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran was arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston with allegedly scheming to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the IRS.

A federal jury in Boise, Idaho, convicted a Georgia woman today for fraudulently obtaining and misusing a $338,958 Paycheck Protection Program loan that the Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Tacoma – A woman who was part owner and CEO of Tacoma Baking Co. pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud in connection with nearly $350,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

Tacoma – A woman who was part owner and CEO of Tacoma Baking Co. pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud in connection with nearly $350,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Lori Hammond, a/k/a Lori McCracken, a/k/a Lori Blakely, 54, of Summerville, Christopher Conrad, 41, of Holly Hill, Catherine “Cassie” Needham, 38, of Manning, and Jontrell Wright, 37, of Orangeburg, were sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and misusing the funds.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Lori Hammond, a/k/a Lori McCracken, a/k/a Lori Blakely, 54, of Summerville, Christopher Conrad, 41, of Holly Hill, Catherine “Cassie” Needham, 38, of Manning, and Jontrell Wright, 37, of Orangeburg, were sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and misusing the funds.

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment charging a Utah resident with wire fraud after he allegedly lied about his criminal history when applying for multiple small business loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former bank branch manager in Kansas City, Mo., has pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting Kansas City Chiefs playoffs tickets and a new Chevrolet Tahoe in exchange for facilitating a $12.4 million Covid fraud scheme by a Jefferson City, Mo., business owner, as well as a separate fraud scheme to receive unemployment benefits.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment today charging DOUGLAS RAYMOND ARNTSEN with masterminding a fraudulent scheme to obtain more than $1.3 million in government-funded loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment today charging DOUGLAS RAYMOND ARNTSEN with masterminding a fraudulent scheme to obtain more than $1.3 million in government-funded loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Tommy Louisville (71, Pembroke Pines) has pleaded guilty to unlawful drug distribution, making a false statement related to health care matters, and wire fraud. Louisville faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the drug distribution offense, up to 5 years’ imprisonment for the false statement offense, and up to 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Tommy Louisville (71, Pembroke Pines) has pleaded guilty to unlawful drug distribution, making a false statement related to health care matters, and wire fraud. Louisville faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the drug distribution offense, up to 5 years’ imprisonment for the false statement offense, and up to 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, attorney today admitted that he illegally obtained more than $300,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.

Three Tulsa-area residents who fraudulently applied for Paycheck Protection Program loans were sentenced last week in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

BOSTON – Two Nigerian men were sentenced today in federal court in Boston for their roles in an expansive money laundering and bank fraud scheme that resulted in millions in losses from pandemic fraud, romance scams and other online scams.

Used CARES Act Loan Proceeds to Purchase a Mercedes-Benz and to Lease and Fully Furnish a Luxury Apartment in Downtown Baltimore U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Lawrence A. Walker, age 64, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 24 months in federal prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement, and 3 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and fraudulently obtaining more than $262,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), intended to provide financial assistance to small businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (...

Jacob Eldridge solicited at least 20 friends and acquaintances to file fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans.

A Glendale man was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison for laundering at least $3 million in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance (UI) benefits that his accomplices fraudulently obtained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Oct. 27, a former corrections sergeant with the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCRD), was sentenced to 18 months in prison for COVID-19 relief fraud, followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $432.051 in restitution.

An indictment accuses Connie Bobo and New Heights Community Resource Center of fraudulently claiming to have served at least three million meals to children.

Brittish Williams admitted committing $564,000 worth of frauds including tax fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud and three separate pandemic fraud schemes.