Jeannetta Blackmon, Wire Fraud and Money Laundering, North Carolina 2023

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a shocking turn of events, Jeannetta Blackmon, also known as Jeannetta Regan, 48, of Charlotte, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for obtaining more than $1.5 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program loans for herself and her customers.

According to plea documents, Blackmon executed a scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SBA-backed lenders by obtaining fraudulent COVID-19 disaster relief funds for her businesses, J Renee Enterprises, Jeannetta Renee Girls Talk (JR Girls Talk), and Jrenee Investments (JR Investments).

To obtain the relief funds, Blackmon submitted applications and supporting documents that contained false and fraudulent information regarding her businesses’ income, number of employees, gross revenues, and expenses. Blackmon also created and submitted fabricated bank statements and checks, in furtherance of the scheme.

As a result of the fraudulent loan applications, Blackmon received more than $319,000 in disaster relief funds. Blackmon also admitted to obtaining more than $300,000 in loan preparation fees from customers who paid Blackmon to prepare and submit on their behalf PPP and EIDL loan applications that contained false information.

The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley is in charge of the prosecution. Blackmon was released on bond after her plea hearing and faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud charge. The maximum statutory penalty for the money laundering offense is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established on May 17, 2021, to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud.

If you have information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19, you 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 www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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