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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.

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.

Baltimore, Maryland – Edward McCorkle, 37, of Baltimore County, Maryland, pled guilty today, to one count of wire fraud, in connection with submitting fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. According to his plea agreement, beginning in May 2020, and continuing through February 2021 in the District of Maryland, McCorkle engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions — including Cross River Bank, and the SBA — to obtain fraudulent loans for various purported businesses that he previously established under the PPP and EIDL program.

Greenbelt, Maryland – District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Jemel Lyles, 43, of Washington, DC, to 66 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $281,947 in restitution, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. In his guilty plea, Lyles admitted to submitting applications for and receiving funds from six fraudulent CARES Act loans. Additionally, Lyles violated his supervised release from a previous federal conviction for obstruction of an audit.

TERRY COLLINS, 31, of Bristol, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 72 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for trafficking fentanyl and for laundering funds received through misrepresentations to a COVID-19 relief program.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of 9 indictments charging 12 individuals with wire fraud. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.