McKayla Myers, PPP Fraud, West Virginia 2021

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - McKayla Myers, 27, of Cabin Creek, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting theft of government money. Myers admitted to a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of $83,332 in COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

According to court documents and statements made in court, from on or about April 22, 2021, through on or about May 22, 2021, Myers provided her personal information to another individual to apply for and obtain four PPP loans, each for $20,833.00, through fraud. Two of the loan applications falsely claimed those loans were for an automotive repair business, and the other two falsely claimed those were for a delivery service business.

The CARES Act made forgivable PPP loans available to businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to replace their normal income and for certain other eligible essential expenses. As part of her guilty plea, Myers admitted that she knowingly defrauded the PPP program, that she did not own or operate the businesses listed on the loan applications, and that she did not have payroll or other qualifying business expenses at that time. Myers further admitted that she spent the PPP loan proceeds on clothing, firearms, vacations, and other personal expenses while knowing that none of these purchases were eligible expenses.

Myers also admitted that she sought to have one of the $20,833 loans forgiven on or about December 16, 2022, by falsely claiming that she had spent $19,000 of the proceeds on payroll.

Myers is scheduled to be sentenced on September 14, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Myers also owes $83,332 in restitution.

United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG).

This case was also supported by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, including spending via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/kanawha-county-woman-pleads-guilty-83332-covid-19-fraud-scheme