Three Atlanta-area residents were indicted on multiple charges involving alleged fraud of COVID-19 pandemic relief programs. Salimot Akande, Garey Henderson, and Jacqueline Rollizo are accused of orchestrating a scheme to defraud the government out of nearly $2 million, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to court documents released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the trio managed to successfully apply for fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling approximately $1.6 million for seven businesses. They did this by allegedly submitting fake tax filings and loan applications with false information. The group has also been charged with obtaining fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs), with Akande’s business receiving $48,900 and Henderson’s two businesses receiving $299,800 in total.
The indictment further alleges that after receiving the funds, the defendants purposely moved the money through multiple bank accounts. This was supposedly done to “conceal the true source and control of the money,” a practice commonly referred to as money laundering. “Stealing from pandemic relief programs is a betrayal of the public trust and a direct attack on the businesses that truly needed help during a time of crisis,” Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, Steven N. Schrank, stated in the release by the U.S. Department of Justice…