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Sadie Mitchell, 30, Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for COVID-19 Fraud in Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. – In a shocking case of COVID-19 fraud, a Midlothian woman was sentenced to 70 months in prison for defrauding the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
According to court documents, Sadie Mitchell, 30, with the assistance of her co-conspirator, executed a scheme to defraud the Virginia Employment Commission by filing at least 20 fraudulent unemployment applications using the personal identifying information of inmates. Among the false information included in these applications were false physical addresses, false last employers, and a false certification that the inmates were ready, willing, and able to work in the event employment became available.
The conspirators further defrauded the Virginia Employment Commission by filing at least 30 fraudulent applications in the names of other individuals whose personal identifying information was obtained, in part, by Mitchell querying a government database she had access to as an employee of the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board.
Through this fraud scheme, the conspirators obtained approximately $1 million in PUA and Unemployment Insurance benefits.
Additionally, from June 2020 to June 2021, Mitchell devised and executed a scheme to defraud the PPP and EIDL programs. The defendant submitted 5 PPP applications to a financial institution, each containing false statements, false representations, or false certifications.
The defendant further executed a scheme to defraud the EIDL program, which was intended to give forgivable loans to small businesses. Mitchell submitted several fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration for businesses that had no customers, employees, or business activity, and in those applications, she made false statements, representations, and false certifications.
Sadie Mitchell was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Hannah M. Lauck to 70 months in prison. Significant assistance was provided by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle, Virginia Employment Commission, and the Virginia Department of Corrections.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kashan K. Pathan and Carla Jordan-Detamore. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime,Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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