Reports

ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke woman, who conspired with dozens of other individuals to commit wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.

ATLANTA – Jerry Baptiste, the last of 20 defendants charged in a wide-ranging criminal scheme to steal Paycheck Protection Program funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been sentenced for his role in the scheme.

NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that CELINA BOLTON-FULTZ (“BOLTON-FULTZ”), age 35, of Slidell, Louisiana, pled guilty on October 3, 2024 to thirty counts of assisting in filing false tax returns under 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), five counts of filing her own false tax returns under 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1), four counts of making false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and two counts of theft of government funds under 18 U.S.C. § 641. The Honorable Eldon E. Fallon set sentencing for January 23, 2025.

BOSTON – An Easton man was charged yesterday in a superseding indictment for allegedly using Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to secretly purchase a home in the name of a close relative.

A Joplin, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for two fraud schemes, totaling nearly $300,000, including fraudulent loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and a so-called “transaction reversal” bank scheme.

BOSTON – Bankrupt lender Kabbage, Inc. d/b/a KServicing, has agreed to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted thousands of false claims for loan forgiveness, loan guarantees, and processing fees to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).

An Atlanta man who provided phony documentation to receive small business pandemic relief payments has been sentenced to prison and ordered to repay the funding.

On Feb. 8, Gregory Scott Keough, 57, of Wellington, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for submitting fraudulent loan applications seeking approximately $2 million in forgivable Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. These loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).