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Baton Rouge Woman Gets 36 Months for Six Fake Relief Applications That Drew Over $440,000

Linda Gurvin applied in the names of businesses that had closed years earlier, and of a foundation and a church she formed after the pandemic began. She sought more than $1 million.

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Linda Gurvin, 56, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, admitted in her guilty pleas that she submitted six fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, seeking more than $1 million. She received more than $440,000. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced her to 36 months in federal prison for wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions, followed by three years of supervised release. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana announced the sentence on May 3, 2024.1

Several applications used the names of businesses Gurvin had formed before the pandemic that had closed years earlier. She filed two more in the names of entities she created after the pandemic began, solely for the scheme: a purported nonprofit called Gurvin's Marine & Air Force Guardian Angels Foundation, and an entity called Heaven's Paradise Church of All Nations. The applications made false statements about the businesses' operations and came with fraudulent documents purporting to be federal tax filings.1

As the money arrived, Gurvin moved it through numerous bank accounts she controlled, then spent it on personal purchases, including large down payments on a 2020 Land Rover Range Rover and a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The government had already seized the Range Rover, and at sentencing the court ordered her interest in it forfeited. She must also pay $496,673.78 in restitution to the Small Business Administration and forfeit an additional $447,600 in proceeds.1

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the FBI and the SBA Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alan A. Stevens, also serving as Senior Litigation Counsel, and J. Brad Casey prosecuted it.1

Documents cited

Notes

  1. U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, "Baton Rouge Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Programs", May 3, 2024 (original on justice.gov). ↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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