Federal district · prosecutions
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
34 pandemic-relief fraud prosecution records for the District of Maryland, naming 34 defendants. By program: 18 PPP, 1 EIDL, 14 unemployment insurance, 1 other or unclassified. 7 have a case page in the archive. An amount is stated for 32 of them, from $29,234 to $60,000,000. Source dates run from 2021-03-31 to 2026-05-21.
Cases
34 defendants · 8 with a case page · sorted by amount, largest first
| Defendant | Case page | Program | Charge | Amount | Disposition | Sentence | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andra Shirone Thompson | United States v. Andra Shirone Thompson — D. Md., No. 8:24-cr-00057-LKG | PPP/EIDL | two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud | $60,000,000 largest figure in the release | sentenced | 13 months | 2025-03-19 |
| Harold Dotson | Maryland Accountant Sentenced to Federal Prison in Connection With $24-Million COVID Relief Fraud Scheme | PPP/EIDL | conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions | $24,807,432 fraudulent CARES Act loan applications including PPP and EIDL | guilty plea | 36 months | 2025-09-30 |
| Ahmed Sary | USA v. Sary — U.S. District Court, District of Maryland | PPP/EIDL | conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions | $18,000,000 largest figure in the release | sentenced | 84 months | 2024-06-25 |
| Oluwaseyi Akinyemi | U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang Sentenced Oluwaseyi Akinyemi — United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron | PPP/UI | two counts of mail fraud | $5,000,000 largest figure in the release | sentenced | 96 months | 2022-07-13 |
| Terry Chen | DOJ Usao Md Press Release Prince Georges County Man Sentenced Role Cares Act Unemployment 2026 05 21 | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft | $3,500,000 obtained | sentenced | 72 months | 2026-05-21 |
| Rudolph Brooks | Rudolph Brooks, Cheltenham, Maryland — 18 Months in Federal Prison — The Honorable Deborah L. Boardman (August 27, 2024) | PPP | fraudulently obtaining over $3.5 million in COVID-19 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans | $3,500,000 fraudulently obtaining | sentenced | 18 months | 2024-08-28 |
| Tiia Woods | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft | $3,200,000 loss | guilty plea | 74 months | 2025-04-24 | |
| Medard Ulysse | Amended Judgment, D. Md. No. 1:22-cr-00335 (Doc. 28) | UI | wire fraud, conspiracy, mail fraud, identity theft | $2,485,512 largest figure in the release | sentenced | 102 months | 2025-02-21 |
| David Godin | Miami Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for $2.3 Million COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud Scheme | UI | wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, identity theft | $2,300,000 largest figure in the release | sentenced | 78 months | 2025-06-24 |
| Sky Tiffany Lawson | Judgment in a Criminal Case — United States v. Sky Tiffany Lawson, District of Maryland (Document 359) | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud; aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. 1349, 1028A) | $2,094,319 restitution ordered | plea | 24 months | 2025-05-02 |
| Tiffany Lawson | Judgment in a Criminal Case — United States v. Sky Tiffany Lawson, District of Maryland (Document 359) | UI | $2,094,319 restitution ordered | 24 months | |||
| Jonathan Henry | UI | conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, identity theft | $1,894,971 largest figure in the release | sentenced | 97 months | 2024-10-01 | |
| Michael Akame Ngwese Ay Makoge | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; aggravated identity theft | $1,500,000 restitution ordered | sentenced | 53 months | 2024-02-29 | |
| Dementrous Von Smith | Waldorf Man Sentenced to Over Four Years in Federal Prison for COVID-19 CARES Act Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving More Than $1.5 Million in Losses | UI | wire fraud, conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, identity theft | $1,500,000 actual loss | sentenced | 53 months | 2023-12-15 |
| Keon Ball | Keon Ball, Baltimore, Maryland — 66 Months in Federal Prison — Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Aggravated Identity Theft | PPP | wire fraud, conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, identity theft | $1,450,000 obtained | plea | 66 months | 2022-07-29 |
| David Epstein | USA v. Epstein - David Epstein | PPP/EIDL | wire fraud, false statements | $1,307,170 fraudulently obtaining | guilty plea | 13 months | 2025-05-08 |
| Alexander Barabash | Alexander Barabash PPP fraud case — U.S. District Court, District of Maryland | CARES | wire fraud | $1,295,000 fraudulently obtaining | sentenced | 14 months | 2023-06-26 |
| Jerry Phillips | Jerry Phillips, a/k/a Tian Juzo, Capitol Heights, Maryland — Seven Years in Federal Prison — U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang | PPP/EIDL/UI | wire fraud conspiracy; aggravated identity theft; illegal possession of a machine gun | $1,235,213 restitution ordered | plea | 84 months | 2023-06-26 |
| Jaleel Phillips | Jerry Phillips, a/k/a Tian Juzo, Capitol Heights, Maryland — Seven Years in Federal Prison — U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang | PPP/EIDL/UI | wire fraud conspiracy | $1,142,769 restitution ordered | plea | 30 months | 2023-06-26 |
| Reginald Alphonso Hopkins | Baltimore Man Sentenced to Two Years for Fraudulently Obtaining COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program Loans | PPP/EIDL | wire fraud, conspiracy | $1,016,224 PPP and EIDL funds fraudulently obtained | guilty plea | 24 months | 2024-01-10 |
| Robert Hopkins IV | Robert Hopkins IV, Age 37, of Baltimore — 51 Months in Federal Prison — Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Aggravated Identity Theft | PPP | wire fraud, conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, identity theft | $1,000,000 actual loss | plea | 51 months | 2022-09-16 |
| Lawrence Nathanial Harris | DOJ Usao Md Press Release Temple Hills Man Sentenced Firearms And Drug Trafficking Crimes 2026 01 23 | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud; aggravated identity theft; possessing a machine gun; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense | $952,225 loss | plea | 180 months | 2026-01-23 |
| Temitope Bashua | UI/EIDL | conspiracy to commit wire fraud | $948,000 restitution ordered | sentenced | 30 months | 2025-11-20 | |
| Edward McCorkle | United States v. Edward McCorkle — PPP and EIDL case, D. Md. | PPP/EIDL | wire fraud | $946,500 attempted | plea | 24 months | 2026-02-05 |
| Ahmed Hussain | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud; aggravated identity theft; felon in possession of a firearm; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance | $557,000 actual loss | guilty plea | 102 months | 2025-09-08 | |
| Olaolu Alabi | Maryland Man Sentenced to Over Five Years in Federal Prison for COVID-19 Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Schemes | UI | conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft | $500,000 obtained | plea | 66 months | 2023-06-02 |
| Tomeka Glenn | United States v. Tomeka Glenn | PPP, EIDL | conspiracy to commit wire fraud | $300,726.50 obtained | plea | 65 months | 2024-10-25 |
| Jemel Lyles | Previously Convicted Federal Felon Sentenced for Defrauding COVID-19 Loan Program and Identity Theft | PPP | conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, obstruction | $281,947 obtained | plea | 66 months | 2025-09-10 |
| Lawrence A. Walker | Baltimore Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Scheme to Obtain More Than $550,000 in Fraudulent Covid-19 CARES Act | PPP | conspiracy to commit wire fraud | $262,252 proceeds received | plea | 24 months | 2023-10-31 |
| Ayaz Qureshi | USA v. Qureshi — U.S. District Court, District of Maryland | PPP | conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions | $250,000 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) benefits | sentenced | 13 months | 2024-09-09 |
| Leslie Awulley Quaye | state UI | Theft by Deception (value over $100,000 felony); Identity Fraud (2 counts) | $41,905 restitution ordered | guilty plea | 2024-01-11 | ||
| Nicholas Milano White | Serial Fraudster Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Steal Mail, Stealing Benefits Under the Cares Act, and Aggravated Identity Theft | UI | conspiracy to steal mail, emergency benefits fraud, and aggravated identity theft | $29,234 restitution ordered (release: the full amount of the victims' losses) | sentenced | 96 months | 2021-03-31 |
| Denish Sahadevan | Former Social Media Influencer Sentenced to Three Years for Scheming to Obtain More Than $1.2 Million in Loans — Denish Sahadevan, Greenbelt, Maryland | PPP/EIDL | 36 months | 2024-01-09 | |||
| Sherrie Lynne Bryant | D. Md. No. 8:22-cr-00308 | PPP/EIDL | wire fraud; violating probation from a previous federal conviction for obstruction of an audit | not specified | 18 months | 2023-01-27 |
Data and method
Each row is one row of the pandemic-relief sentences table, printed as that table prints it: defendant, program, charge, amount and its basis, disposition, and the date of the source the row was read from. A blank cell is a blank cell in the table. The sentence column states the months of imprisonment the table records, or the years of probation where it records no custodial term. A case page is linked only where a case page in this district names the defendant; 7 of the 34 rows do. District is the table’s own district field, resolved to this court. Rows whose district field names only a state with more than one federal district are not placed on any district page. A date the table writes in another form is restated as YYYY-MM-DD; a cell that is not a date is printed as it stands. An amount of $1 billion or more is left out: those cells carry a program appropriation quoted in the source release, not a sum attributed to the defendant. Some defendants have more than one row because the table read them from more than one source.
Court hub: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland — every filing in the archive from this court, with the case pages it holds.