San Francisco woman, Miranda Devlin, has been charged with pandemic relief fraud and impersonating attorneys in a federal complaint, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.
According to the complaint, Devlin, 37, of San Francisco, used a shell company to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) out of pandemic relief funds. PPP funds provide a critically important safety net for legitimate businesses suffering real losses. Anyone considering PPP fraud should know law enforcement is watching, and federal prosecution can follow.
Devlin allegedly impersonated multiple California licensed attorneys by using their names and license numbers. She was retained by two defendants facing serious criminal charges in Marin County Superior Court. Devlin initially appeared in court as “Miranda Martin.” The complaint alleges that when questioned, she thereafter pivoted and assumed the identity of another attorney who also shared her first name, Miranda Petrillo.
The true Miranda Martin and Miranda Petrillo are licensed attorneys with the State Bar of California and are both victims of Devlin’s identity thefts. The complaint further alleges that, in the course of investigating Devlin’s attorney impersonations, investigators uncovered that Devlin had recently defrauded the Small Business Administration by submitting a loan application to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the name of a shell business.
The PPP arose out of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March 2020 which authorized forgivable PPP loans to small businesses to promote job retention and certain other expenses during the pandemic. A PPP loan must be used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities, and the applications for such loans, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, must meet certain requirements and be made under oath.
The complaint alleges that Devlin submitted an application for a PPP loan in the amount of $32,700 on behalf of an entity she created, the Common Nucleus of Cancer, LLC (CNC). In CNC’s application, Devlin made multiple false statements and provided false IRS documents to support the statements. For example, Devlin claimed that she was Miranda Martin, that CNC was managed by Miranda Martin, that Miranda Martin owned 100% of the entity, that CNC had two employees and a monthly payroll of $13,115, that it had paid employee salary and payroll taxes throughout the four quarters of 2019, and that CNC was in operation on February 15, 2020. Each of statements were made under oath. None of them are true. Once the loan was funded, Devlin used the money for a variety of unauthorized non-payroll expenses, such as purchases from Amazon, Bloomingdale’s, and Tiffany & Co., and for purchases of stock.
Miranda Devlin made her initial appearance in federal court on February 12, 2021, before the Honorable Laurel Beeler, United States Magistrate Judge. Devlin was released on bond. The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Related Federal Cases
- Bruce Choi, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · Alabama
- McKenzie Marie Earley, $10M Wire Fraud, C.D. California, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Irina Segal, Medicare Fraud, Philadelphia PA, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Frank Hamilton Sentenced to 5.5 Years for SBA Scam, California, 2023 · Alabama
- Amy Evangelista, Tax Return Fraud, Lathrop CA, 2023 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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