Willie Curry Gets 6 Months for $150K COVID Loan Fraud

Willie Curry, a 58-year-old Miami-Dade County resident and longtime county employee, was sentenced to six months in federal prison for ripping off the U.S. government during one of the nation’s most vulnerable moments—the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King handed down the sentence after Curry pleaded guilty to wire fraud for submitting a falsified application to the Small Business Administration (SBA) seeking Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.

At the time of the fraud in 2020, Curry was working full-time as a Network Manager for Miami-Dade County, drawing a full salary with no pandemic-related job loss. Still, he filed an EIDL application on June 24, 2020, claiming to run a business called “Will Curry Computers”—a shell operation he created that year. He lied, stating the company launched in 2015 and reported $755,416 in gross revenue with 10 employees. In reality, the business had no employees, minimal revenue, and barely existed.

Based on those lies, the SBA approved and disbursed a $10,000 advance and a $150,000 loan to Curry’s bank account. The financial institution, suspicious of the transaction, returned the money to the SBA. Undeterred, Curry repeatedly contacted the SBA, trying to redirect the illicit funds to another bank account—a paper trail that sealed his fate when federal investigators began closing in.

Judge King cited Curry’s seven years of honorable U.S. Army service in sentencing but made clear that exploiting a relief program meant for struggling Americans carried consequences. The full penalty: six months behind bars, followed by one year of supervised release, with the first six months confined to his home. A $100 special assessment was also imposed.

The case was investigated by the FBI Miami’s Area Corruption Task Force, which includes officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Professional Compliance Bureau and Criminal Conspiracy Section, along with agents from the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG). The Miami-Dade County Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service provided critical support. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm prosecuted.

The CARES Act, passed in March 2020, poured billions into emergency relief for small businesses crushed by pandemic shutdowns. The SBA’s EIDL program was a lifeline for legitimate sole proprietors and contractors. But fraudsters like Willie Curry turned it into a personal piggy bank—and now, they’re paying the price.