Sherry Joseph was sentenced to 45 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for her role in a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) scheme. Joseph, of New York, was indicted for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in September 2022.
The Small Business Administration provided PPP loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. While on pretrial release for a separate fraud-related offense, Joseph submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications that totaled more than $9.2 million. Joseph, along with her co-conspirators, recruited individuals to apply for PPP loans, and falsified bank statements, payroll tax forms, and employee numbers to meet varying loan payment thresholds. In exchange, Joseph demanded and received kickbacks from individual business owners. Joseph used aliases to hide her identity when sending recruits to her co-conspirators.
In addition to serving nearly four years in federal prison, Joseph will serve three years of supervised release and pay over $1.6 million in restitution and in forfeiture. Joseph was charged with more than 20 other individuals in an action by South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office and the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Over 200 defendants have been prosecuted for exploiting the PPP since the inception of the CARES Act. Jason J. Carley, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of FBI Miami noted that “[w]hile [CARES Act] loan programs have ended, the FBI’s commitment to seeking out those who defrauded the government continues.”
The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent clients of all types and sizes in connection to financial fraud and White-Collar Criminal matters. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us today.