Jimia Rae Cain, COVID Relief Fraud, Washington 2020

COVID-19 relief programs quickly ran out of money due to the number of businesses that requested funding, meaning that struggling, deserving small businesses were not able to obtain critically needed funding to keep their businesses afloat during the shutdowns and disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, said U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref.

Jimia Rae Cain, 52, of West Richland, Washington, obtained $337,267 in COVID relief funding in 2020 for her purported business, Americore Construction. Cain admitted that Americore Construction did not have any legitimate business, employees, or payroll during the relevant time period and submitted false and fraudulent tax, payroll, and other documentation to obtain the funding.

Cain also misrepresented her criminal history by certifying that she had no criminal convictions other than traffic citations, when in fact she had at least two prior fraud convictions.

According to court documents and information disclosed during court proceedings, Cain pleaded guilty and U.S. District Judge Mary K. Dimke accepted her plea and set sentencing for June 1, 2023, at 1:30 p.m., in Richland, Washington.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, created and launched the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force in February 2022 to aggressively investigate and prosecute fraud against COVID-19 relief programs in Eastern Washington.

The Strike Force consists of agency representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Energy Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and others.

Cases investigated and prosecuted by the Strike Force have resulted in numerous indictments and convictions and have recovered millions of dollars in penalties and restitution for the public.