Former Owner of Illicit Massage Parlor Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Relief Fraud

Summary

A press release from USAO - Massachusetts, dated 2022-01-20, states that the former owner of a massage parlor, Chynna Savath, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with obtaining fraudulent pandemic-related loans for an illicit business. It says that in June 2020 Savath submitted fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration for relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program, falsely certifying that the applicant was not engaged in any illegal activity. The release states that Savath obtained $29,646 in fraudulent payments and that sentencing is scheduled for May 19, 2022. It lists the wire fraud penalty as up to 20 years in prison.

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BOSTON – The former owner of a massage parlor pleaded guilty today in connection with filing for and obtaining fraudulent pandemic-related loans for her illicit business where workers engaged in commercial sex acts with customers.
Chynna Savath, 56, of Woonsocket, R.I., pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for May 19, 2022. Savath was charged in September 2021.
Savath is the former owner of Thai Body Work, a massage parlor in Franklin, Mass. In June 2020, Savath submitted fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration for COVID-19 relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. In the applications, Savath falsely certified that the applicant was not engaged in any illegal activity, despite knowing that her employees at Thai Body Work engaged in prostitution with customers and that she collected a portion of fees paid by each customer. In total, Savath obtained $29,646 in fraudulent payments from the EIDL and PPP loan programs.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Cambridge, Boston, Franklin and Lexington Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Wan of the Criminal Division and Suffolk County Assistant District Attorneys Alyssa Tochka and Luke Goldworm, who were appointed as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, are prosecuting the cases.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit
https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at:
https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form
.

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