“There is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future,” an elegantly barbed observation by Oscar Wild made over 100 ago…which seems even more relevant in our present world, as so many fraudsters are facing restitution penalties for COVID-19 schemes. Like Bridget Corinne O’Brien, a fraudster with a past, now looking at a future in prison. Whether she becomes a saint or an unreformed fraudster remains to be seen. Time will tell. On January 13, 2025, O’Brien was sentenced to two years in prison, where she can decide her future after she is released.
O’Brien, a mother of two who has a master’s degree in speech pathology, founded a Phoenix therapy clinic for children called Head to Toe Therapy. Seems saintly, except she was suspended as a provider for Arizona’s Medicaid program in November 2019. Can’t be a saint without a past, right? However, one year later, O’Brien applied for 23 Paycheck Protection Program land Economic Injury Disaster loans using fraudulent information. Not saintly. Using gross misrepresentations of employee numbers and average monthly payroll expenses, O’Brien obtained more than $2.9 million in fraudulent proceeds.
A particularly glaring misuse of funds by O’Brien occurred when multiple payments from O’Brien’s Small Business Administration funded bank account were made to a real estate title agency as part of the purchase of a $1.9 million luxury home in Phoenix. In addition to the payments on the home, the loan funds were also used for many other unauthorized personal expenses including personal dining, travel, clothing, home furniture, rent payments to O’Brien’s rental home, tuition payment, as well as volleyball lessons for O’Brien’s child.
Excellent job by the Arizona Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Arizona business owner sentenced to prison after using COVID-19 loans on home, travel” published by the Arizona Republic on January 13, 2025.
A 51-year-old Arizona woman who operated a therapy clinic for children with special needs is going to prison after a conviction of fraud for misusing pandemic-era loans from the federal government.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge last week sentenced Bridget Corinne O’Brien to two years in prison followed by three years of probation for taking advantage of programs that were put in place to help businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Brien was also ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the federal Small Business Administration, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office says.
