Georgia – Two residents of Georgia were found guilty by a federal jury in Atlanta for their involvement in a fraudulent scheme exploiting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for over $11 million. Teldrin Foster, 42, from Decatur, faced multiple charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering related to 14 loan applications. Carla Jackson, 55, from Tucker, was convicted on two counts of money laundering associated with the proceeds from a PPP loan.
Fraudulent Scheme Exposed
The fraudulent activity occurred between April and August 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster, alongside accomplices, submitted or helped in submitting applications for PPP loans on behalf of 14 businesses, each seeking around $800,000. These applications falsely certified the operational status of the businesses on February 15, 2020, claimed they had employees on payroll, and assured the funds would be used according to the PPP guidelines.
To substantiate these claims, the applications were supported by fraudulent IRS Form 941s, which falsely indicated that each business had roughly 60 employees and about $300,000 in monthly payroll expenses. The deceit didn’t stop with the acquisition of funds; Jackson, among others, was involved in laundering some of the proceeds through complex transactions aimed at obscuring the origin and expenditure of the funds.
Legal Repercussions
The crimes carry severe penalties, with the defendants facing up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and money laundering and up to 30 years for each count of bank fraud and making false statements to a federally insured financial institution. A federal district court judge will decide on the sentence.
The convictions were announced by officials from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the Northern District of Georgia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, IRS-CI, and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General. The collaborative investigation by these agencies underscores the federal government’s commitment to prosecuting individuals who exploit emergency financial programs designed to assist businesses struggling during the pandemic.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Samir Kaushal for the Northern District of Georgia.