Not everyone is going to partner with someone that has the same attitude towards money. It’s common that one person in the relationship is going to be the spender. And the other is usually a saver. Or in the case of Joshua and Nicole Marcelle Pennington, one was the spender, and the other was the fraudster. Unfortunately for Joshua, spenders are also guilty even if they don’t commit fraud.
Joshua Pennington was married to Nicole Marcelle Pennington when she submitted materially false information on multiple loan applications for Small Business Administration (SBA) programs in 2020. Six of those fraudulent loan applications were approved, resulting in $1,090,398.35 in fraudulently obtained SBA funds by Nicole. And if there was a question as to who the spender in this relationship was, it became clear the moment the fraudulently gained proceeds were deposited into an account that both Nicole and Joshua had access to.
Nicole used one SBA Loan to pay for a cruise. Joshua on the other hand had a far bigger shopping list. With the rest of the loans, Joshua Pennington withdrew large amounts of cash and transferred money between bank accounts with the intent to launder the fraudulently obtained funds. He then purchased vehicles and motorcycles, paid off mortgages and other loans, paid for kitchen renovation and also plastic surgery for his loving fraudster.
On January 21, 2025, Joshua Pennington was found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Nicole Pennington has yet to have her time in court. Not surprising, since money issues can destroy a marriage, the Penningtons were divorced on February 11, 2022.
Excellent job by the Internal Revenue Service Investigation Office in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Man admits to fraud to pay for wife’s plastic surgery, other things” published by WYMT News on January 21, 2025
A Laurel County man admitted to laundering money to buy vehicles and motorcycles as well as paying off mortgages and other loans, paying for a kitchen renovation and his wife’s plastic surgery.
According to court documents, Joshua Daniel Pennington pleaded guilty on January 17 to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering between May 2020 and June 2021. The fraud involved loans from the federal government through COVID-19 relief programs, court documents showed. Pennington was married to Nicole Marcelle Pennington in 2020 when she reportedly applied for loans through programs that were set up to help small businesses hurt by economic decline that came about during the pandemic.
