Reports

A Richmond County woman has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution for defrauding a COVID-19 small business relief program.

Frederick Avery sold Superior Cruise and Travel LLC in 2019, received $215K in PPP loans in 2020 and 2021,

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was charged today in federal court in Boston with scheming to fraudulently obtain and misuse COVID-19 relief funds and stealing Social Security benefits.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thomas O. Crowell, 35, of Canal Winchester, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 188 months in prison for committing narcotics, firearms and financial fraud crimes. A federal jury convicted Crowell in January 2024.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two people have been indicted for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funding on behalf of a West Virginia resident, according to United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. Kimberly VanKline, 56, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Rhonda Brown-Moore, 64, of Brooklyn, New York, were indicted yesterday for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to the improper receipt of funds from the COVID Relief Act.

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today to using a California Employment Development Department (EDD) unemployment insurance benefits debit card in another person’s name without the person’s authorization.

A North Carolina woman was indicted by a federal grand jury today for fraudulently obtaining a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.