KY Woman Gets 44 Months for COVID Loan Scam

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LONDON, KY – Nicole Pennington, 50, of London, Kentucky, will spend the next three years and eight months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to launder over a million bucks in stolen COVID relief funds. U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom handed down the 44-month sentence Tuesday.

Pennington and her husband, Joshua Pennington, ran a scheme from March 2020 to May 2022, submitting bogus applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). They faked records – tax returns, financials, the whole nine yards – for about 30 applications tied to real and phantom businesses they controlled. Six of those applications hit pay dirt, netting them a cool $1,090,398.35 from the Small Business Administration.

But the couple didn’t use the stolen money to keep anyone on the payroll. Instead, they used it to bankroll a lavish lifestyle. Court records show the Penningtons splurged on a kitchen renovation, plastic surgery, a Viking River Cruise, new vehicles, and used the funds to pay off debts. They also pulled out large amounts of cash.

Joshua Pennington already got 22 months in prison for his role in washing the dirty money. Nicole will serve 85% of her sentence, as required by federal law. This case is a stark reminder that exploiting a national crisis for personal gain will land you in a federal courtroom, and likely, behind bars.