The following was taken from a press release distributed by the United States Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Georgia on June 7, 2024:
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – Shelitha Robertson, who formerly served as an Assistant City Attorney and police officer for the City of Atlanta, has been sentenced for fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal stimulus program authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
“Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency financial relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute criminals who stole pandemic relief funds.”
“Today the defendant in this case was held accountable for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through the Paycheck Protection Program and using those stolen funds to enrich herself, while small businesses were struggling during the pandemic,” said Kyle A. Myles, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General, Atlanta Region. “The FDIC OIG remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue and bring to justice those who took advantage of such pandemic relief programs and threatened the integrity of our Nation’s financial institutions.”
“Scheming to divert vital funds from legitimate businesses that needed support during the pandemic undermines the integrity of SBA’s programs,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Braithwaite. “Our office remains steadfast in pursuing those who exploit federal programs for personal gain. I would like to thank the US. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their unwavering commitment to the pursuing justice in this case.”
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration will aggressively pursue individuals who commit fraud against the American taxpayer by making false claims to obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans intended for legitimate businesses who needed it to survive the pandemic,” stated Special Agent in Charge Mark H Morini, Jr. “We want to express our gratitude to our federal partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their assistance in holding these individuals to account.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the court documents and evidence presented at trial: Shelitha Robertson and other co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications on behalf of four businesses that she owned and controlled. The loan applications falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the four businesses, resulting in larger PPP loans than Robertson would be legitimately entitled to obtain.
Robertson and her co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, also submitted false tax documents to support the inflated statements in each loan application. Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring. She also transferred funds to Chandra Norton and family members.
Shelitha Robertson, 62, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg to seven years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. A jury convicted Robertson of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering on December 19, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bernita B. Malloy and Trial Attorney Ariel Glasner of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 192 defendants in more than 121 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
In May 202, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’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 via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
