Man Sentenced for Defrauding Nearly 1,700 Victims in $1 Million Small Business Loan Scam

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia dated April 9, 2021, announcing a 10-year prison sentence for Ronald A. Smith, 60, of Virginia Beach. According to the release, Smith and his co-defendant and wife, Terri Beth Miller, ran Business Development Group, an internet-based company that from August 2012 through February 2018 collected about $1,076,000 in advance fees from 1,669 customers using false claims, including an affiliation with the SBA. Smith also obtained $9,600 in federal pandemic unemployment compensation through a fraudulent application with the Virginia Employment Commission. Smith pleaded guilty on October 9, 2020 to wire fraud, monetary transactions in criminally derived property, and fraud in connection with emergency benefits.

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                                       Department of Justice
                                         U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                      Eastern District of Virginia


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              Friday, April 9, 2021

   Man Sentenced for Defrauding Nearly 1,700 Victims in $1
             Million Small Business Loan Scam
NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in an
internet-based loan scam that defrauded nearly 1,700 owners and prospective owners of small
businesses out of $1,076,000, and for fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, Ronald A. Smith, 60, and his co-defendant and wife, Terri Beth Miller,
53, set up an internet-based company, Business Development Group, that offered, in exchange for an
advance fee, assistance to individuals in preparing applications to obtain loans guaranteed by the
Small Business Administration. From August 2012 through February 2018, Smith and Miller solicited
potential customers on the basis of false, fraudulent, and misleading statements and representations,
including that the company was headquartered at the Trump Building in New York City with additional
offices in Las Vegas, that it was affiliated with the SBA, that it had favorable relationships with banks
across the nation, and had assisted well-known large companies in obtaining SBA loans. They offered
a money-back guarantee, but in fact employed various fraudulent methods to deny refunds.

“Smith’s brazen scheme resulted in over a million dollars in losses and inflicted serious financial and
emotional hardship to many of his nearly 1,700 victims,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the
Eastern District of Virginia. “For those who seek to deprive our hardworking community members
from receiving crucial financial assistance, you will be held accountable in EDVA and brought to
justice.”

“This kind of fraud reaches deep into the community by striking at struggling businesses and people
trying to hold onto their livelihoods. It is unconscionable that anyone would attempt to steal from the
community using the SBA loan program to line their own pockets,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent
in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office. “The FBI is committed to rooting out this kind of fraud.
Anyone with information on SBA loan program and other COVID-19 related fraud is asked to submit
a tip to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.”

“Ronald A. Smith submitted a fraudulent unemployment insurance claim with the Virginia
Employment Commission, thereby stealing federal pandemic unemployment compensation benefits
intended to help unemployed workers,” said Derek Pickle, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington,
DC Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “Today’s sentence
demonstrates the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to combating fraud against the
unemployment insurance program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement and state
workforce agency partners to hold accountable those who seek to exploit unemployment insurance
benefit programs to unlawfully enrich themselves.”

“Defrauding small business owners who are trying to launch, expand, or support their businesses is
unacceptable,” said Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge of the Small Business
Administration, Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Region. “Our Office will remain relentless in the
pursuit of fraudsters who seek to exploit SBA’s vital economic programs. I want to thank the U.S.
Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing
justice served.”
Smith and Miller solicited 1,669 customers, who paid an aggregate sum of about $1,076,000 in
advance fees. Most of these customers did not receive an SBA-guaranteed loan.

Smith was prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia for nearly the identical advance-fee scam in
2006 and received a seven-year prison sentence.

As part of the current case, Smith also committed fraud in connection with emergency benefits by
submitting a fraudulent application with the Virginia Employment Commission for unemployment
compensation, including $600 per week in federal pandemic unemployment compensation authorized
under the CARES Act. As a result, Smith obtained $9,600 in federal pandemic unemployment
compensation to which he was not entitled.

On October 9, 2020, Smith pleaded guilty to wire fraud, engaging in monetary transactions in
criminally derived property, and fraud in connection with emergency benefits. Miller pleaded guilty
on October 23, 2020 to wire fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived
property, and she will be sentenced on April 16, 2021.

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in
Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Derek Pickle, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, DC
Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Amaleka McCall-
Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General, Eastern Region, made
the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.

The investigation was jointly conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Small
Business Administration, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District
Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-69.
Topic(s):                                               Component(s):
Coronavirus                                             USAO - Virginia, Eastern
Financial Fraud
                                                        Contact:
                                                        Press Office USAVAE.Press@usdoj.gov


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