Two years ago, on August 3, 2020, Christen Schulte pled guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering from her employer and other individuals associated with her employer as a book keeper and office manager of a farm and trucking company. Despite the evidence presented in court and the guilty conviction, she sought multiple delays in her sentencing. Almost one year after her conviction, Schulte was sentenced to over six and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $517,140 in restitution in the embezzlement case. She was to start serving that sentence on August 20, 2021.
However, the FBI learned Schulte had fraudulently applied for multiple Paycheck Protection Program loans in the months leading up to her sentencing. What else was she going to do while waiting for her sentencing for embezzlement during a pandemic?
Schulte filed several PPP loans with the company “Mama Bear Cake Company.” Two of her applications were approved for a total of $27,132, receiving the money on May 19, 2021, eight days before her sentencing in the embezzlement case. That was cutting it close!
Schulte started serving time for the embezzlement case on Aug. 30, 2021, but she was back in court just ten weeks later where she was indicted for COVID-19 PPP loan fraud on November 10, 2021. I wonder if “Mama Bear Cake Company” put complimentary break out of jail knives in the cakes?
On September 28, 2022, Schulte appeared in federal court on Wednesday and admitted that between March 22, 2021, and May 19, 2021, she applied for three loans and received two of them. She admitted lying on the loan applications when asked if she was facing or had been convicted of a felony and lied about the gross income for her business.
Great job by the FBI on investigating this case.
Today’s Fraud of the Day is based on an article “Missouri woman admits fraudulent PPP loan attempts while awaiting embezzlement sentence” published by The Center Square on September 28, 2022
A Missouri woman awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to embezzling $727,000 admitted to fraudulently applying for three federal Paycheck Protection Program loans worth $40,823, according to U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.
Christen Diane Schulte of Franklin County pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering on Aug. 3, 2020. Schulte admitted embezzling funds from her employer and other individuals and entities linked to her employer.
