Couple Pleads Guilty To $2 Million Bank Loan And COVID-19 Relief Fraud Schemes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Antoine Johnson, 48, and Kimberly Maddox, 43, formerly of Huntersville, N.C., currently residing in Georgia, pleaded guilty today to federal charges for fraudulently obtaining approximately $2 million in bank loans and COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, announced Dena J. King U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to plea documents and today’s court hearing, the defendants owned and operated Pick Up and Go Moving International, Inc. and affiliated businesses (collectively, PUGMI). Johnson was the president of PUGMI and Maddox the vice president. Court documents show that, between 2018 and 2023, the defendants fraudulently obtained multiple lines of credit, bank loans, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program loans on behalf of their businesses totaling approximately $2 million. To secure the loans, the defendants lied on more than 30 loan applications about PUGMI’s income, gross revenues, expenses, and number of employees, and submitted fabricated supporting documents that included fraudulent tax returns and fictitious financial statements.

Johnson and Maddox pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. The statutory maximum sentence the defendants face is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Following the plea hearing, the defendants were released on bond. A sentencing date has not been set.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the prosecution.

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 www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.