Anna Marie Omar, Money Laundering, West Virginia 2024

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – In a brazen bid to siphon off COVID-19 relief funds, Anna Marie Omar, 50, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, pleaded guilty on [current date] to money laundering by engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Omar fraudulently obtained a $20,833 PPP loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on April 30, 2021. The loan was meant to replace lost income and cover expenses for qualifying independent contractors and self-employed individuals adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Omar admitted to falsely representing that she was an independent contractor, earning $152,000 in gross income in that capacity during tax year 2020, and operating a water processing business since 2010. In reality, she obtained the COVID-19 relief money for personal use.

A PPP lender approved Omar’s loan application and deposited $20,833 in loan proceeds into her personal checking account on May 17, 2021. Omar transferred $12,216.70 of the loan proceeds from her personal checking account to her personal savings account the following day.

Omar is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. She also owes $23,410.60 in restitution.

United States Attorney Will Thompson praised the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU), Homeland Security Investigations, the Horry County South Carolina Sheriff’s Office, and the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

This case is part of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established on May 17, 2021, to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. Those with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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