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Houston Woman Sentenced to 70 Months Over $1.9 Million in Fake-Employee PPP Loans

Lola Shalewa Barbara Kasali, 24, of Houston, was sentenced on April 7, 2022, to 70 months in prison for a scheme that used two companies with no employees, no payroll, and no reported revenue to draw more than $1.9 million out of the Paycheck Protection Program.1

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A criminal complaint filed in September 2020 laid out how the scheme worked. On or about June 27, 2020, Kasali applied to Bank 1 on behalf of "Lola's Level," claiming 8 employees and average monthly payroll of $775,000, a figure that implied annual salaries of $1.16 million apiece. Lola's Level, LLC was not registered with the Texas Secretary of State until August 7, 2020, six weeks after the application. State wage records showed Lola's Level had never reported a single hire or paid any unemployment tax. The application's supporting IRS Form 941s were unsigned and undated, and none had been filed with the IRS. One claimed nine employees and, for a single quarter, more than twice the maximum taxable Social Security wages nine workers could earn in a year.2 Bank 1 approved the loan on or about July 15 anyway, and on July 20 deposited $1,937,500 into an account whose balance had never exceeded $3,000 from January to May 2020. The day after the funds landed, Kasali opened four more accounts and split the money across them in transfers of $250,000, $687,000, $500,000, and $500,000. The money then sat untouched until federal agents seized and recovered the full amount.2

A second application, to a Lubbock bank, sought $1,875,944 for "Charm Hair Extensions," which claimed 99 employees but was not registered with the state and had no state wage records. It was denied before any funds went out.2

At trial, prosecutors showed Kasali had submitted the applications to two different lenders on behalf of Lola's Level and Charm Hair Extensions, falsely representing employee counts and payroll expenses and backing the claims with fraudulent tax records.1 A federal jury in Houston convicted her on December 8, 2021, of two counts of bank fraud and two counts of making false statements to a financial institution.1 A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas imposed the 70-month sentence.1

Assistant Chief Jonathan Robell of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Matthew Grisier of the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Section prosecuted the case, assisted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim McAlister. The Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of Inspector General, the SBA Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated.1

After her release, Kasali's probation officer petitioned in late 2025 to revoke her supervised release. On June 9, 2026, Senior U.S. District Judge Sim Lake adopted a magistrate judge's finding that she had violated its terms six ways, including failing to pay restitution as directed, failing to take part in mental health treatment and opening new lines of credit without approval. Probation and the government had recommended three years in prison. Judge Lake set a hearing on the remedy for July 9, 2026.3

Documents cited

Notes

  1. U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, "Woman Sentenced to Over Five Years for COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme" (original), April 7, 2022. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
  2. United States v. Kasali, S.D. Tex. No. 4:20-mj-01644, Doc. 1, criminal complaint and affidavit of Postal Inspector Kyle Shadowens, filed September 4, 2020. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3
  3. Kasali v. United States, S.D. Tex. No. 4:21-cr-00054, ECF No. 501, Memorandum Opinion and Order, June 9, 2026. ↩
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