Daisha Sanders, COVID-19 Relief Scam, Missouri 2021

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Kansas City Woman at Center of $220,000 COVID-19 Relief Scam

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Eleven defendants, including Daisha Sanders, 32, and her boyfriend Joel Wright, 34, both formerly of Blue Springs, Mo., have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy that resulted in more than $220,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The indictment alleges that each of the 11 defendants participated in a conspiracy to submit false and fraudulent applications for PPP loans from February 2021 to July 2022. The conspiracy allegedly caused more than $220,000 in fraudulent PPP loans to be issued to ineligible borrowers, most of which were forgiven even though the funds were not used for the purposes specified in the PPP.

According to the indictment, Daisha Sanders created PPP loan applications for herself and for each of the co-conspirators in exchange for a payment from the loan proceeds. The applications falsely stated either the existence of a sole proprietorship prior to the pandemic or greatly inflated the revenues of any “businesses” that did exist in 2019. Daisha Sanders allegedly created fictitious bank records, IRS forms and other false financial documents to support the fraudulent PPP loan applications.

The indictment also alleges that Daisha Sanders submitted the PPP loan applications on behalf of each of the co-conspirators, and once the PPP loans were funded, the co-conspirators would pay her up to $5,000 for making and submitting the false loan applications.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.