Jacinthia Williams, 44, has been sentenced for committing wire fraud. The woman, who is from Augusta, Ga., fraudulently submitted multiple applications in an attempt to obtain COVID-19 relief loans. (She joins a growing line of fraudsters who have been caught and prosecuted for committing fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
Williams admitted to fabricating business information and other knowingly false representations of the businesses for which she filed pandemic relief loan applications. According to court documents and testimonies in June and July of 2020, three loan applications were submitted by Williams.
In total, Williams received $137,500 from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program, which consists of funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Security (CARES) Act. (Speaking of cares, Williams obviously gave none.)
After pleading guilty to charges of falsifying the loan applications, Williams admitted to inflating the numbers of employees of each business as well as the business’ earnings prior to the pandemic-induced economic downturn. (The economy won’t be the only thing going down. With her conviction, Williams’ future has also taken a turn for the worse.)
Williams also admitted to spending a portion of her loan proceeds on personal expenses. (No surprise there.) She pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and was sentenced to 12 months and one day of incarceration.
After Williams’ time in prison, she will be on supervised release for the following three years. (She should consider spending her down time writing a fiction novel since she enjoys creating imaginary stories.) Williams has already repaid a portion of the funds to the SBA, but still must pay $61,600 more in restitution.
Today’s Fraud of the Day comes from a Department of Justice press release, “Augusta woman sentenced, ordered to pay restitution for CARES Act fraud,” dated June 15, 2021.
AUGUSTA, GA: A woman who admitted to submitting loan applications containing knowingly false representations in an effort to secure COVID-19 relief loans has been sentenced in U.S. District Court and ordered to pay restitution.
Jacinthia Williams, 44, of Augusta, was sentenced to 12 months plus one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to Wire Fraud, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Chief U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Williams to pay $61,600 in restitution.
