Online boutique owner sentenced for nearly $500K in COVID-19 relief fraud

DENVER (KDVR) — An online shop owner who was found guilty earlier this year by a federal jury of defrauding federal COVID-19 relief programs was sentenced Thursday to serve 90 months in prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, Shambrica Washington, 39, now a resident of Parker, Texas , and previously a resident of Colorado Springs, was sentenced to serve 90 months in prison (seven and a half years) followed by three years of supervised release and paying restitution of over $542,900, or the amount she purportedly obtained through unlawful measures.

Washington was found guilty by a federal jury in June of 31 charges, which were:

  • Three counts of wire fraud
  • Two counts of bank fraud
  • 22 counts of money laundering
  • Four counts of making false claims

Court records show Washington obtained two Small Business Administration loans under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and two Paycheck Protection Program loans , intended for small businesses struggling with COVID-19 restrictions and economic impacts, for $485,749 between March and July 2020.

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