Case docket
United States v. French — U.S. District Court, E.D. Mo., Eastern Division
United States v. French — 2 court filings in the archive from U.S. District Court, E.D. Mo., Eastern Division, filed between October 26, 2022 and March 27, 2023.
Case facts
| Court | U.S. District Court, E.D. Mo., Eastern Division |
|---|---|
| Filings | 2 public filings |
| Filed | 2022-10-26 – 2023-03-27 |
| Document types | indictment (1) |
| Original PDFs | 2 of 2 |
Case summary
Nikia A. French was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, No. 4:22-cr-00591. An indictment returned October 26, 2022 charged a scheme to defraud Commerce Bank in which account holders allowed their accounts to be used for the deposit of counterfeit checks. In a guilty plea agreement filed March 27, 2023 French pleaded guilty to counts I and II of the indictment, bank fraud, and admitted submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications as relevant conduct under the sentencing guidelines. The agreement records counterfeit checks deposited or attempted totaling at least $73,515.22, proceeds of at least $34,109.66, and two PPP applications for approximately $11,532 each submitted on April 2 and April 14, 2021.
Case at a glance
| Defendant(s) | Nikia A. French |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, No. 4:22-cr-00591-JAR-NCC |
| Program | Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as relevant conduct; the counts of conviction concern counterfeit checks drawn on Commerce Bank |
| Charges | Bank fraud, counts I and II of the indictment |
| Outcome and sentence | Pleaded guilty to counts I and II under a Rule 11(c)(1)(A) agreement filed March 27, 2023. No judgment, minute entry or sentencing document is on this page, so no imposed sentence is recorded here |
What did French plead guilty to?
Counts I and II of the indictment, bank fraud, in exchange for the United States agreeing to bring no further federal prosecution in that district relating to the check fraud scheme described in the indictment or to her fraudulently obtaining two PPP loans between April 2021 and May 2021.
How does the PPP enter the case?
As relevant conduct. The plea agreement states that between April 2021 and May 2021 French engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP loans, submitting two applications for approximately $11,532 each as a self-employed individual to the third-party lender Fountainhead SBF and misrepresenting her gross income. It describes Womply as the technology company whose internet platform received and processed applications for Fountainhead.
What amounts does the plea agreement record?
Counterfeit checks deposited or attempted between February 2022 and April 2022 totaling at least $73,515.22, with at least $34,109.66 received in proceeds, and two PPP applications of approximately $11,532 each.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
2 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.