A North Mississippi woman has been sentenced after defrauding the federal government of over $5 million through a COVID-19 relief program.
Lisa Evans, 43, of Olive Branch, was sentenced Sept. 11 to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program. PPP was a federal program intended to help small businesses and their employees survive the pandemic.
According to information presented in court, Evans submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for numerous individuals who were not entitled to PPP loans through her Memphis-based tax service business. The applications she submitted contained false representations, including fake federal tax documents. When the individual borrowers obtained the loan funds, they then paid Evans kickbacks ranging between 20 to 30%.
The total loss to the PPP program was $5,126,258.
Evans was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and pleaded guilty in February. She was ordered to pay $4,400,723 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service, Memphis Field Office. Interim U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced the sentence after Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony R. Arvin prosecuted it.
