FLORIDA
A couple was sentenced to prison Wednesday for their participation in a scheme to file four fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans, officials stated.
The loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, according to officials.
Latoya Stanley, 38, and Johnny Philus, 33, both of Miami, were sentenced to 18 and 30 months in prison, respectively.
They each plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 8.
As set forth in court documents, in Stanley’s PPP application, she claimed to employ 18 individuals from her company, Dream Gurl Beauty Supply LLC. Philus, meanwhile, stated that he employed 29 individuals at his company, Elegance Auto Boutique LLC.
In actuality, Stanley and Philus did not employ anyone at their respective companies.
According to court documents, in her EIDL application, Stanley claimed to generate over $800,000 in income and to employ five individuals from a farm-based in the yard of her Miami home.
In his EIDL application, Philus claimed to generate $400,000 in income and to employ 10 individuals from a farm located in the yard of a small residential home.
But, in reality, Stanley and Philus employed no one and the farms did not exist, court documents show.
As they admitted in their plea agreements, Stanley and Philus worked together to effectuate the fraud and ultimately received over $1 million in funds from the fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications before their schemes were uncovered, officials stated.