Jessica Nutter, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, West Virginia 2021

State: West Virginia
Category: Fraud &#038; Financial Crimes
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/kanawha-county-woman-pleads-guilty-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme-1" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

A West Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme, cheating the government out of $20,830 in forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Jessica Nutter, 39, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty in federal court to receipt of stolen money, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Nutter admitted to a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of two loans, each for $10,415, from an approved PPP lender in Texas and the SBA. She falsely represented on one loan application that she had a business, Nut House Wood, and that it had received $50,000 in gross income during 2019.

Nutter applied for the other fraudulent loan on behalf of her husband, falsely representing that he received $50,000 in gross income during 2019 as an independent contractor for an online food ordering and delivery service. The Texas lender approved both of Nutter’s loan applications.

On April 9, 2021, $10,415 was transferred to Nutter’s personal bank account from a Texas bank. Nutter admitted that she transferred $15,573.12 of those stolen funds to a North Carolina business on April 12, 2021, to cover expenses for a family vacation later that year.

Nutter is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 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 at least $25,830 in restitution to the government.

The CARES Act, enacted in March 2020, offered emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anyone 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.

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