WASHINGTON D.C.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment Tuesday charging a Georgia woman with a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), officials stated.
PPP is a federal stimulus program authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to court documents, Shelitha Robertson, 60, of Atlanta, and other co-conspirators allegedly submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of various companies they owned and controlled.
The indictment alleges that Robertson fraudulently obtained over $7 million in PPP loan funds, which was not used for payroll or other permitted business expenses.
Robertson allegedly used loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a Rolls-Royce, a motorcycle, and jewelry, and to transfer funds to family members and co-conspirators, according to authorities.
Robertson, who formerly served as an Assistant City Attorney and a police officer in Atlanta, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on each conspiracy and wire fraud charge. Also, the money laundering charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Robertson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Trial Attorney Ariel Glasner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita Malloy for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP.
Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 192 defendants in more than 121 criminal cases.
CARES seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds and numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
In May 2021 the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.