MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A federal grand jury has indicted two Memphis business owners with stealing $786,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz announced Friday.
Lisa Evans, 40, of Olive Branch, Mississippi, owner of USA Taxes in Memphis, and Kevin Shaw, 33, of Memphis, owner of Freight Masters, Inc., are charged with conspiring to commit bank fraud and making false statements to a federally insured bank.
According to the indictment, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a federal program administered by the Small Business Administration designed to provide emergency financial assistance to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The amount of a PPP loan that a small business may have been entitled to was determined by the number of employees and amount of payroll the business had. Evans and Shaw are alleged to have submitted a fraudulent PPP application for Shaw’s business, Freight Master’s Group Inc., to a bank participating in the PPP program.
Evans is alleged to have provided Shaw with fake IRS documents to support his fraudulent application and then taking a kickback/fee from Shaw after Shaw obtained the $786,202 in loan proceeds.
These offenses each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.
“These federal aid programs were designed to lift hardworking citizens and small businesses in a time of need," Ritz said. "But, as the indictment alleges, these individuals sought to defraud the aid programs. Thanks to our partners for investigating these offenses. We will continue to prosecute those who abuse and misuse COVID-19 relief funds.”
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration aggressively pursues those who attempt to abuse the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and its Paycheck Protection Program, which was created to assist legitimate business owners during the pandemic,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The case was investigated by special agents with five different federal agencies – U.S. Secret Service, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of Inspector General, Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
