Temika Santemore, CARES Act Fraud, Louisiana 2023

NEW ORLEANS – A Houston woman has been charged with CARES Act fraud and theft of government funds in a New Orleans court.

Temika Santemore, 43, pleaded guilty on September 12, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey to a two-count bill of information charging her with making false statements and theft of government funds related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance in connection with economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

According to the charging documents, Santemore made false statements to the SBA for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining pandemic-related relief loans funded by the federal government, including PPP funds, which she received in the amount of approximately $13,540. She also applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) from the SBA in July of 2020 and illegally received $5,000 for a dormant business that she owned.

Sentencing is set for December 12, 2023. Santemore faces a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines, and up to three years of supervised release for the false statements count. She faces up to ten years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines, and up to three years of supervised release for the theft count. There is also a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for each count due after conviction.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General – Criminal Investigations, the Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

For more information on the government’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. 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 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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