DOJ announces new charges, convictions, sentencings in pandemic fraud

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Oct. 18, 2022:

The Department of Justice announced today new criminal charges, convictions, and sentences as part of its ongoing initiative to prosecute fraud in connection with various pandemic relief programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as other crimes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Criminal Division and our partners are committed to identifying and holding accountable those who exploit the COVID-19 pandemic for their own gain," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "As these cases demonstrate, we are unwavering in our determination to prosecute those who have defrauded relief programs meant to help struggling Americans during the pandemic."

The following new charges are announced today:

United States v. Amber Singleton and Emanuel Tucker

On Sept. 9, Amber Singleton, 42, and Emanuel Tucker, 42, both of Canyon Lake, California, were charged in the Central District of California by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to obtain $15.9 million in PPP and EIDL funds through fraud.

According to court documents, from in or around April 2020 to in or around April 2022, Singleton, Tucker, and other co-conspirators allegedly submitted 41 fraudulent PPP loan applications and 13 fraudulent EIDL applications on behalf of various companies that they owned and controlled. These applications allegedly contained material misrepresentations about the companies, including the number of employees, average monthly payroll, gross revenue, cost of goods, and supporting documents.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI; Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG); Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Inspector General (FRB-CFPB OIG); Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (DOE-OIG) are investigating the case.

Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Joshua Debold and Edward Emokpae and Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie Makarewicz for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States v. Dumarsais Blaise and Alexander Blaise

On May 19, Dumarsais Blaise, 45, of Stonecrest, Georgia, and Alexander Blaise, 41, of Plantation, Florida, were charged in the Southern District of Florida by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to obtain $1.6 million in PPP funds through fraud.

According to court documents, beginning in or around May 2020, Dumarsais Blaise, a tax preparer, and Alexander Blaise allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain PPP loans for companies that did not actually exist.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FDIC-OIG and FBI's Miami Division are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Edward Emokpae and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran Bhat for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States v. Karen Sarkisyan, Gayk Akhsharumov, and Babken Chalkadryan

On Sept. 2, Karen Sarkisyan, 42, of Glendale, California, Gayk Akhsharumov, 38, of Sherman Oaks, California, and Babken Chalkadryan, 38, of Van Nuys, California, were each charged in the Central District of California by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to submit false Medicare claims. Sarkisyan and Akhsharumov were also charged with wire fraud and theft of government property for their roles in an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP funds.

According to court documents, from in or around January 2018 to in or around May 2021, the defendants allegedly used two Los Angeles-based hospice companies, San Gabriel Hospice & Palliative Care Inc. (San Gabriel Hospice) and Broadway Hospice Inc., to submit over $9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. Additionally, Sarkisyan and Akhsharumov allegedly submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of San Gabriel Hospice to the SBA and to a financial institution and misused approximately $91,483 in other COVID-19 relief funds.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the FBI are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Patrick J. Queenan and Alexandra Michael are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The following convictions and sentencings are announced today:

United States v. Marque Willard Johnson

On Sept. 15, Marque Willard Johnson, 40, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Florida to bank fraud and money laundering as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain $544,900 in PPP and EIDL funds.

According to court documents, in or around April 2020, June 2020, and January 2021, Johnson applied for one PPP loan and six EIDL loans in connection with two companies that he controlled, falsely claiming that he had large monthly payrolls. Johnson successfully obtained three loans. On the loan applications, Johnson provided false and fraudulent representations concerning the financial condition of his companies and the intended purposes for the loans.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS-CI is investigating the case. Fraud Section Senior Litigation Counsel John Michelich is prosecuting the case.

United States v. Samuel Yates

On Sept. 8, Samuel Morgan Yates, 35, of Maud, Texas, was sentenced to 68 months in prison in the Eastern District of Texas prison for a $5.5 million PPP loan fraud scheme.

According to court document, Yates made two fraudulent applications to two different lenders for PPP loans guaranteed by the SBA. In one application, Yates sought $5 million in PPP loan proceeds by fraudulently claiming to have over 400 employees with an average monthly payroll of more than $2 million. In the second application, Yates claimed to employ over 100 individuals and was able to obtain a loan of over $500,000. With each application, Yates submitted a list of purported employees that he obtained from a publicly available random name generator online. He also submitted forged tax documents with each application.

The SBA-OIG and U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG) investigated the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Louis Manzo and Criminal Chief Frank Coan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan R. Hornok for the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

United States v. Lisa Hammell

On Aug. 8, Lisa Hammell, 39, of Turnersville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in the District of New Jersey to conspiracy to defraud the United States and fraud in connection with identification documents as part of a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards scheme.

According to court documents, from in or around March 2021 to in or around April 2022, Hammell sold fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards that she designed herself. Hammell also printed dozens of fraudulent cards while working at a post office. In total, Hammell sold at least 400 fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The USPS-OIG, FBI, and Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General (DOI-OIG) are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Kelly M. Lyons and Darren C. Halverson are prosecuting the case.

United States v. Juan Nava Ruiz and Eric Frank

On June 21, Eric Frank, 48, of Coral Springs, Florida, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, and Juan Nava Ruiz, 46, also of Coral Springs, was sentenced to 22 months in prison in the Southern District of Florida for conspiracy to solicit and receive health care kickbacks.

According to court documents, from in or around December 2018 to in or around June 2020, Frank and Ruiz brokered patient referrals for medically unnecessary genetic testing and respiratory pathogen testing bundled with COVID-19 testing to laboratories in exchange for kickbacks.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Jamie de Boer prosecuted the case.

United States v. Ranna Shamiya and Jaimi Jansen

On Sept. 28, Ranna Shamiya, 41, of Ukiah, California, and Jaimi Jansen, 40, of Santa Cruz, California, were each sentenced to three years of probation in the Northern District of California to making false statements related to health care matters as part of a COVID-19 health care fraud scheme.

According to court documents, from in or around April 2021 to in or around July 2021, the defendants aided and abetted a scheme by a California-licensed naturopathic doctor to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized vaccines.

The HHS-OIG, FBI, and FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) investigated the cases. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Babu Kaza and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Lloyd-Lovett and Kristina Green for the Northern District of California prosecuted the cases.

United States v. Scott Davis

On May 27, Scott Davis, 46, of Harris County, Texas, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to wire fraud as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain $3.3 million in PPP funds.

According to court documents, from in or around April 2020 to in or around May 2020, Davis submitted three PPP loan applications fraudulently representing that three of his fake business entities had 113 employees and monthly payroll of $233,469; 87 employees and monthly payroll of $387,000; and 138 employees and monthly payroll of $718,256, respectively.

Davis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and SBA-OIG are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Edward Emokpae is prosecuting the case.

United States v. Gustavo Geraldes

On April 28, Gustavo Geraldes, 39, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to offer and pay healthcare kickbacks as part of a COVID-19 health care fraud scheme.

According to court documents, from on or about Oct. 27, 2020, to on or about Nov. 30, 2020, Geraldes conspired to pay kickbacks to an intermediary who arranged for telemedicine providers to authorize medically unnecessary genetic testing orders for tests to be performed at laboratories owned by Geraldes. The scheme exploited temporary amendments to telehealth restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were intended to expand access to care for Medicare recipients by making it easier for beneficiaries to receive necessary medical care from home. Geraldes and his co-conspirators took advantage of these waivers by using telehealth providers to authorize thousands of medically unnecessary genetic test orders.

Geraldes faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The HHS-OIG and FBI are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Ligia Markman is prosecuting the case.

United States v. Darrell Thomas, et al.

Between Jan. 4, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2022, 13 defendants were sentenced and another five pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Georgia for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $12 million in PPP and EIDL funds.

According to court documents, from in or around April 2020 through in or around August 2020, the defendants and their co-conspirators submitted at least 14 fraudulent loan applications totaling more than $14.7 million, including approximately $11.1 million in fraudulent PPP loans, more than $1.15 million in fraudulent EIDL loans, and more than $2.4 million in fraudulent automobile loans. In the loan applications, the conspirators fraudulently certified that each applicant business was in operation on Feb. 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or that it paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the application and in all supporting documents was true and accurate in all material respects. In the PPP loan applications, each business reported that it had approximately 60 employees and approximately $300,000 in average monthly payroll expenses, when, in fact, most of the businesses existed only largely on paper. To support these payroll figures, each business's loan application was accompanied by a fraudulent IRS Form 941.

After the PPP loan proceeds were deposited into the businesses' accounts, the conspirators distributed the funds through a series of transactions that were devised to disguise the origins of the funds and how the funds were spent. The conspirators used the PPP loan proceeds to purchase, among other things, luxury goods, including two Range Rovers, an Acura NSX, and a Mercedes Benz S-Class S65 AMG.

The following 12 defendants were sentenced:

Darrell Thomas, 36, of Johns Creek, Georgia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Charles Petty, aka Charles Knight, 49, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.

Khalil Gibran Green Sr., 47, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison.

Bern Benoit, 45, of Burbank, California, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

Charmaine Redding, 28, of Macomb, Michigan, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

Charles Hill, IV, 46, of Norcross, Georgia, was sentenced to five years of probation, including the first 27 months on home detention.

Andre Lee Gaines, 67, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced to five years of probation.

Denesseria Slaton, 53, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.

Amanda Christian, 34, of Blythewood, South Carolina, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison.

Derek Parker, 57, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.

Rick McDuffie, 51, of Little Rock, South Carolina, was sentenced to two years in prison.

David Belgrave, 50, of Lexington, South Carolina, was sentenced to nine months in prison.

Ryan Whittley, 35, of South Holland, Illinois, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.

The following six defendants pleaded guilty:

Dwan Ashong, aka Dwan Gilpin, 41, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

El Hadj Sall, 40, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Megan Thomas, 33, of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Ricky Dixon, 53, of Warren, Michigan, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Jesika Blakely, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The FBI, IRS-CI, and TIGTA are investigating these cases. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Siji Moore and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Nathan Kitchens for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the cases.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division's efforts to combat fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with respect to the resources made available by Congress through the CARES Act for programs including the PPP, the EIDL, and the Provider Relief Fund. Since the CARES Act passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 192 defendants in more than 121 criminal cases related to CARES Act programs and funds. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $78 million in cash proceeds derived from CARES Act-related fraud schemes, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department's response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Information about fake CDC COVID-19 vaccination cards can be reported to HHS-OIG by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or 1-800-447-8477. Anyone with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's 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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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-new-charges-convictions-and-sentencings-ongoing-initiative