As the coronavirus swept across the country, two South Florida women teamed up to steal more than $800,000 in federal government loans that were meant to help small businesses survive the economic collapse during the public health crisis.
Raisha Kelly, 44, of Palm Beach County, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison after being found guilty of multiple counts of wire fraud by submitting falsified tax returns on loan applications in Miami federal court. She was also ordered to reimburse $443,895 to the Small Business Administration, which guaranteed the pandemic loans through the agency’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Malaina Chapman, a former employee of the Small Business Administration who collaborated with Kelly and five others, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in March. Chapman, 38, of Hialeah, faces sentencing in June…