Laplace Resident Sentenced for Role in Preparing and Submitting Fraudulent Cares Act Financial Assistance Applications
According to court documents, SCHOFIELD, Lynn and Bashir submitted fraudulent applications to obtain money from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans. Each defendant submitted at least one loan. All applications falsely represented that the applicant had a sole proprietorship and generated substantial income from the business, by overinflating gross receipts. The entities either did not exist or earned far less money than reported. They also misrepresented that the loan proceeds would be used for business related purposes, when, in fact, the defendants intended to use the money for personal reasons. SCHOFIELD submitted a fraudulent application for an EIDL loan for a business she claimed to own, “Just Jocin.” In conjunction with her mother, Lynn, SCHOFIELD also gave false material information to the Small Business Administration. This false information included the gross inflation of monthly gross receipts to support still other loans, including for an entity named “Afromerica Touch 360, LLC,” and used some of the resulting funds for herself.
For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, was in charge of the prosecution.
Shane Jones
Community Outreach Coordinator
U.S. Attorney's Office
Eastern District of Louisiana