Chynna Savath, Wire Fraud, Massachusetts 2020

BOSTON – In a shocking revelation, Chynna Savath, the 56-year-old former owner of Thai Body Work, a massage parlor in Franklin, Massachusetts, has been charged with two counts of wire fraud in connection with the COVID-19 relief program.

According to the charging documents, Savath submitted fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in June 2020 for COVID-19 relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program under the CARES Act. However, she falsely certified that the applicant was not engaged in any illegal activity, despite knowing that her employees at Thai Body Work engaged in prostitution with customers and collected a portion of fees paid by each customer.

The applications revealed that Savath obtained $29,646 in fraudulent payments from the EIDL and PPP loan programs. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Chynna Savath, 56, of Woonsocket, R.I., made the announcement on Monday. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Wan of Mendell’s Criminal Division and Suffolk County Assistant District Attorneys Alyssa Tochka and Luke Goldworm, who were appointed as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

The COVID-19 relief program was launched to provide financial assistance to businesses affected by the pandemic. However, it appears that some individuals took advantage of the program by submitting fraudulent applications.

The authorities are urging anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

Chynna Savath, former owner of Thai Body Work, is currently facing two counts of wire fraud. The case is ongoing, and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

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