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Charleston Woman Sentenced in COVID-19 Fraud Scheme
In a shocking case of COVID-19 related fraud, Damisha Brown, 32, of Charleston, West Virginia, was sentenced to time served, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $15,625 in restitution for her role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to court documents, Brown received $15,625 in proceeds from a criminally derived Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loan, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The loan was obtained through a scheme involving co-defendant Kisha Sutton, who conspired with Brown and others to obtain fraudulent PPP loans.
Sutton submitted a PPP loan application on Brown’s behalf on April 25, 2021, listing Brown as a sole proprietor hairdresser who received $75,000 in gross income in 2020. However, Brown admitted in court that she never earned $75,000 as a hairdresser in one year and that the IRS Form 1040 submitted with her application was fraudulent and created solely to obtain the PPP loan.
The $15,625 in loan proceeds was deposited in Brown’s personal bank account on April 30, 2021, and she admitted to transferring $3,500 to Sutton as her share of the fraudulent PPP loan proceeds. Brown also spent the remainder of the loan proceeds on ineligible personal expenses.
Brown and Sutton are among several individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on charges alleging they and others conspired, and aided and abetted one another, to obtain fraudulent PPP loans totaling $140,625.
As part of the scheme, Brown and others submitted fake loan applications and documentation to obtain the PPP loans, which were designed to help small businesses and sole proprietors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CARES Act made forgivable PPP loans available to qualifying sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to replace their normal income and for certain other eligible expenses. Applicants were required to certify that they were in operation on February 15, 2020, and provide documentation showing their prior gross income from either 2019 or 2020.
United States Attorney Moore Capito commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU) in uncovering the scheme and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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