Omaha Women Sentenced for Paycheck Protection Program Fraud

Summary

A press release published 2023-10-06 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska announcing that Tamika R. Cross, 44, of Omaha was sentenced by Chief Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. to 42 months' imprisonment for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, with three years of supervised release and $552,287.26 in restitution. The office states that co-defendant Davida J. Anderson, 53, was sentenced on October 5, 2023 to four years of probation with five months' home detention, a $5,000 fine and $3,921.60 in restitution after pleading guilty to false statements to the Small Business Administration. According to the release, Cross submitted and helped more than ten others submit fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications totaling $3,399,769, and the defendants obtained approximately $903,238. It lists prior sentences of co-defendants including Bion A. Flint and Ronnie E. Cross.

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Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Tamika R. Cross, 44, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Omaha by Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. to 42 months’ imprisonment for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, Cross will begin a three-year term of supervised release. Chief Judge Rossiter ordered Cross to pay restitution of $552,287.26.
Co-defendant Davida J. Anderson, 53, of Omaha, was sentenced on October 5, 2023, in Omaha by Chief Judge Rossiter to four years of probation, with the condition of five months’ home detention, and a fine of $5,000. Anderson pleaded guilty in June 2023 to making False Statements to the Small Business Administration. Anderson was also ordered to pay restitution of $3,921.60, in addition to the loan repayments she had already made in the amount of approximately $78,432.
During 2020 and 2021, Cross submitted applications for PPP and EIDL loans on behalf of her purported businesses and herself, as a sole proprietor, and obtained several PPP loans and an EIDL grant. Those loans were created or expanded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the loan applications, Cross misrepresented the average monthly payroll that her purported businesses paid, the net revenue from her purported businesses, and the gross income she received as a sole proprietor. In fact, the businesses did not have employees and thus had no payroll, and Cross did not generate revenue as a sole proprietor.
In addition to loan applications submitted on her own behalf, Cross provided direction and guidance to others concerning creating the appearance of ongoing businesses, creating phony supporting documents, and obtaining larger loans by inflating the amount the applicant businesses purportedly paid in past compensation or had received in revenue.  Cross assisted with preparing fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications on behalf of more than ten other persons. The applications substantially inflated the compensation paid by the businesses and the gross revenues earned by the businesses. Cross also prepared fraudulent documents for submission in support of loan applications, such as false tax documents.
Cross submitted, and assisted others in submitting, fraudulent applications for PPP and EIDL loans and advances totaling $3,399,769. The applications contained material misrepresentations and were supported by false documents. Cross and the co-defendants obtained approximately $903,238 in loans and advances.
“This defendant submitted false documents certifying a number of employees and payroll for a business that had neither.  She collected PPP loan proceeds based on lies and helped others do likewise,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock. “We are committed to investigating those who defrauded the government and robbed businesses truly in need of pandemic relief.”
Co-defendant Anderson submitted or caused to be submitted applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 and 2021.
Anderson worked with Cross to prepare and submit loan applications that misrepresented payroll for a purported business, revenue for a sole proprietorship and falsely stated she had no other business.  In fact, the business had no employees and Anderson did not earn income as a sole proprietor.  The PPP applications were also supported by false tax documents, some of which Anderson signed. Anderson submitted or caused to be submitted fraudulent applications for loans totaling approximately $118,532, and she obtained $78,432.
The following co-defendants were sentenced previously:
Bion A. Flint, sentenced on September 15, 2022, to 10 months’ imprisonment, three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $45,833 in restitution;
Jeremy D. Sanders, sentenced on March 10, 2023, to four years of probation, and ordered to pay $21,304.88 in restitution;
Lakeda R. Sanders, sentenced on March 10, 2023, to four years of probation, and ordered to pay $27,793.79 restitution; and
Ronnie E. Cross, sentenced on June 23, 2023, to 21 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $78,427.30 restitution.
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
.
The cases were investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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