Augusta man admits to COVID-19 scheme that netted more than $4 million in loans and grants (Press Release)

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia, dated Thursday, January 19, 2023, announcing that Kamario Thomas, 42, of Augusta, pleaded guilty to a Conspiracy charge brought by criminal Information. According to the release, in the plea agreement Thomas admits completing false EIDL applications for himself and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks for preparing fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications for co-conspirators, using fabricated IRS forms and tax records. The release states that the scheme caused the disbursement of more than $4 million in fraudulent CARES Act loans and grants. The charge carries up to five years in federal prison, and the case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenifer A. Stanley.

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PRESS RELEASE


Augusta man admits to COVID-19 scheme that netted
more than $4 million in loans and grants
Thursday, January 19, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia

Defendant created multiple pandemic-relief applications
STATESBORO, GA: A Richmond County man has admitted conducting a scheme to
submit fraudulent applications for COVID-19 small business relief funding that netted
more than $4 million in payments.

Kamario Thomas, 42, of Augusta, is charged by a criminal Information with Conspiracy,
said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The guilty plea to
the felony charge subjects Thomas to a statutory penalty of up to five years in federal
prison followed by up to three years of supervised release, along with substantial
financial penalties and restitution to the U.S. government. There is no parole in the
federal system.

“This conviction represents the continuing, vigorous pursuit of those who undeservedly
accessed government funding for struggling small businesses during the COVID-19
pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “In collaboration with our law enforcement partners,
we will hold responsible those who attempt to illegally profit from these programs.”

The 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided more
than $650 billion in funding for qualifying small businesses facing financial challenges
during the COVID-19 pandemic, with grants and forgivable loans available through the
Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).

In his plea agreement, Thomas admits that he completed false and fraudulent EIDL
applications for himself, and that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in
kickbacks in return for completing and submitting fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications
on behalf of his co-conspirators. To create those applications, Thomas fabricated IRS
forms and tax records.

In total, the scheme caused the disbursement of more than $4 million in fraudulent
CARES Act loans and grants.
“Using the Small Business Administration’s programs fraudulently undermines the spirit
and true intent of bolstering the backbone of the nation’s economy: small businesses,”
said SBA Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka
McCall-Braithwaite. “OIG is committed to rooting out bad actors and protecting the
integrity of SBA programs. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law
enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

“In far too many cases, greedy opportunists took advantage of the PPP, diverting much-
needed funds away from those businesses that desperately needed it,” said James E.
Dorsey, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “This
plea signals the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force will continue pursuing and
holding accountable those who chose greed over compassion for their fellow Americans
who faced economic distress during the COVID pandemic.”

“CARES Act funds were intended to help people and businesses harmed by the
pandemic, not to line the pockets of overly greedy professionals,” said Keri Farley,
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is continuing to work with our partners
to do everything in our power to make sure stolen funds are returned to the public, and
individuals who were involved in this type of criminal behavior are prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law.”

“The defendant used deceit and fraud to obtain loans that he was not entitled to receive
for his own financial gain,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta
Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “This guilty plea is a reminder that the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed
to investigating individuals for these types of crimes and holding the offenders
accountable.”

“An important mission of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General is to
investigate fraud related to COVID-19 benefit programs. Through collaboration and
leveraging of resources the federal law enforcement community has continued to make
great strides in holding COVID-19 fraudsters accountable,” said Mathew Broadhurst,
Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of
Inspector General. “We will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and
our law enforcement partners to safeguard COVID-19 benefit programs, including
unemployment compensation benefit programs, for those who need them the most.”

The case is being investigated by the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector
General, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States
by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenifer A. Stanley.
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.
Contact
Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422
Updated January 19, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

DISASTER FRAUD
Component
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

USAO - Georgia, Southern
Release Number: 06-23


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