(WWJ) Four Detroit-area residents are facing federal charges for stealing funds meant to help businesses struggling to pay their employees during the COVD-19 pandemic.
Antonio George, 48, of Novi, is accused concocting a scheme to bilk over $4.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the CARES Act.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges in a criminal information that, along with George, 37-year-old Kevin Womble of Detroit, 43-year-old Andrae Simm of Farmington Hills, and 31-year-old Sarah Vidal of Novi were all involved in the illegal enterprise.
According to court documents, the group attempted to provide false documents about 16 companies' business operations and payroll expenses.
Each have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As a tax preparer, George is also charged with three counts of assisting in the preparation of fraudulent returns related to his tax prep business.
All four appeared in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan last week.
If convicted of all counts, George faces a maximum total penalty of 29 years in prison. Womble, Sims and Vidal each face up to 20 years.
Meanwhile, investigations into these type of crimes by the Attorney General's COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force are ongoing.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 is urged report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at this link.