Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Charges of PPP and RAFT Fraud
A Florida resident who worked remotely for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in 2022 has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in Boston. The defendant, of Brandon, Florida, worked with the Residential Aid to Families in Transition (RAFT) program for around six months while working for DHCD. RAFT provides funds to low-income families in Massachusetts facing eviction or other housing emergencies.
Federal prosecutors say that the defendant, after DHCD ended her position, remained logged into the RAFT database and accessed the files of four participants of the program. Authorities allege that she authorized payments to the landlords of those participants for $7,500, $8,800, $6,925, and $10,000, but changed the routine and bank account numbers to four unauthorized accounts. These accounts included the defendant’s business, her personal account, and the accounts of two others. The owners of the other two accounts paid the defendant a $2,000 kickback from the proceeds.
Federal prosecutors further allege that the defendant fraudulently obtained a PPP loan from a lender in Massachusetts, which the Small Business Administration eventually forgave.
In the application for the PPP loan, the defendant claimed that her business employed 17 people with a monthly payroll of $74,800. At the time of the application, the business had no employees of any kind. Prosecutors allege that the false information led the Small Business Administration to guarantee a $187,000 loan to her business. The defendant later applied for forgiveness of the loan, again, allegedly using false information. The SBA forgave both the principal and the accrued interest.
Federal prosecutors contend that the defendant caused a loss of $222,074, which includes $33,225 from the DHCD, and another $188,894 from the SBA.
Federal wire fraud charges
The defendant is facing multiple counts of wire fraud charges stemming from allegations made by federal prosecutors over her conduct as an employee of the DHCD. She then proceeded to falsify how many employees her business had in order to secure a Payroll Protection Program loan from the Small Business Administration.
Wire fraud is a very broad and open-ended statute meant to be a catch-all for various types of fraud. In this case, the victim of the fraud was the federal government. Hence, federal authorities are leading the prosecution of these crimes.
Wire fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss of the fraudulent activity, whichever is greater. In this case, the defendant caused a loss of $222,074. She could thus face a fine of up to $444,148.
Talk to a Tallahassee Federal Fraud Attorney Today
Luke Newman, P.A. represents the interests of Florida residents who have been charged with fraud by the federal government. Call our Tallahassee criminal defense attorneys today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your defense right away.
Source:
thisweekinworcester.com/jones-raft-pppfraud-100224/
