Richland, Washington – In a shocking display of greed, a Hanford Site subcontractor and its owner have been indicted for stealing more than $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funding intended for struggling businesses in Eastern Washington.
Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that a grand jury returned an Indictment charging BNL Technical Services, LLC (BNL) and its owner, Wilson Pershing Stevenson III, age 44, of Nashville, Tennessee, with eleven counts of fraudulently obtaining more than $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funding.
The charges in the Indictment are the most recent announced by the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force, which was created in 2022 to combat fraud against COVID-19 relief programs in Eastern Washington.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, signed into law by the President on March 27, 2020, provided a number of programs through which eligible small businesses could request and obtain relief funding intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic for small and local businesses.
One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provided government-backed loans to small businesses which could be forgiven so long as the proceeds were used for payroll and other eligible expenses. Another program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, provided low interest loans that could be deferred until the conclusion of the pandemic to provide “bridge” funding for small businesses to maintain their operations during shutdowns and other economic circumstances caused by the pandemic.
The PPP and EIDL programs have provided billions of dollars in aid, the vast majority of which have not been paid back, including hundreds of millions of dollars disbursed within Eastern Washington.
“COVID-19 relief programs quickly ran out of money due to the number of people and businesses that requested funding, which meant that some deserving small businesses were not able to obtain funding to keep their businesses in operation during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref.
The COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force was created to work together to combat pandemic-related fraud and ensure that limited resources are provided to deserving local businesses that provide vital services for our communities.
Between 2020 and 2021, BNL provided contract labor services to Hanford Site prime contractors. As alleged in the Indictment, BNL’s labor costs and payroll continued to be paid by DOE throughout the pandemic, including when BNL employees were not able to physically work at the site and instead were teleworking or simply home in “ready” status.
The Indictment alleges that Stevenson III, on behalf of BNL, nonetheless fraudulently sought and obtained more than $1.3 million in PPP funding for these employees despite their pay and benefits already being covered.
The Strike Force has resulted in numerous indictments, convictions, and civil penalties, and has returned millions of dollars in fraudulently-obtained funds to the public.
Cases investigated and prosecuted by the Strike Force have resulted in numerous indictments, convictions, and civil penalties, and have returned millions of dollars in fraudulently-obtained funds to the public.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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