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Sicklerville woman sentenced for role in $3M COVID fraud scheme
Matthew Fazelpoor//May 3, 2023//
Sicklerville woman sentenced for role in $3M COVID fraud scheme
Matthew Fazelpoor//May 3, 2023//
Listen to this articleRhonda Thomas received her sentence May 1 for charges she pleaded guilty to last year: conspiring to fraudulently obtain loans meant to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 38-year-old Sicklerville resident was sentenced to 60 months in prison, five years of supervised release, ordered to pay $3.18 million in restitution, and to forfeit $1.03 million. The charges she pleaded guilty to included one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering.
Prosecutors say that Thomas fraudulently obtained approximately 30 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
“In 2020 and 2021, Thomas submitted at least 10 PPP applications and three EIDL applications for companies she controlled. She represented to the lenders that her companies had employees and payroll expenses that they did not have. In fact, many of her companies were nominal businesses with no employees or payroll expenses,” said prosecutors according to court documents and statements. “Thomas also conspired with other purported business owners to submit at least 20 fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications. She prepared and submitted these loan applications, which falsely stated the number of employees, payroll, and expenses of the businesses. Thomas forged tax forms and altered bank statements that she submitted to the lenders as part of the loan applications.”
Based on those misrepresentations, prosecutors say that lenders approved the PPP and EIDL loans and disbursed more than $3.1 million in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds that were meant to help distressed small businesses during the throes of the pandemic.
“Thomas personally received more than $330,000 from lenders based on the fraudulent loan applications for her companies and received kickbacks of more than $700,000 from other business owners for her role in preparing and submitting fraudulent loan applications,” prosecutors said. “Thomas used the fraudulently obtained PPP and EIDL loan proceeds to pay for personal expenses. In March 2022, Thomas withdrew approximately $60,000 of the loan proceeds in cash at a credit union in Camden County.”
