New Britain Woman Admits Fraudulently Obtaining COVID-19 Relief Funds — District of Connecticut (April 3, 2025)

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut, dated April 3, 2025. Acting United States Attorney Marc H. Silverman announced that Victoria Kates of New Britain waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to offenses related to COVID-19 relief funds. The release says that from March 2020 through May 2021 Kates defrauded the Connecticut Department of Labor of $217,056 through fraudulent unemployment applications for family, acquaintances and others, and that Kates received $16,250 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in 2021 by overstating gross income. Kates pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum of 20 years; sentencing is scheduled for September 2.

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PRESS RELEASE


New Britain Woman Admits Fraudulently
Obtaining COVID-19 Relief Funds
Thursday, April 3, 2025

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

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today
announced that VICTORIA KATES, 34, of New Britain, waived her right to be indicted and
pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to
offenses related to her fraudulent receipt of COVID-19 relief funds.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 2020, the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided emergency
financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-
19 pandemic. One program created by the CARES Act was a temporary federal
unemployment insurance program for pandemic unemployment assistance (“Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance”). Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provided
unemployment insurance (“UI”) benefits for employed individuals who were not eligible
for other types of UI due to their employment status. The CARES Act also created a new
temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
(“FPUC”) that provided additional weekly benefits to those eligible for Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance or regular UI. The Connecticut Department of Labor (CT-
DOL) administers UI benefits for residents of Connecticut.

From March 2020 through May 2021, Kates defrauded the CT-DOL of $217,056 by filing
fraudulent unemployment applications with the CT-DOL on behalf of her family,
acquaintances, and others. Kates prepared and submitted the original applications and,
in certain instances, submitted required weekly recertifications of the applicant’s
purported continued unemployment status. Kates took a portion of the payouts as a
fee.

As an example, in August 2020, Kates submitted an online unemployment application to
the CT-DOL for a friend that made several false representations, including that the
applicant was a self-employed driver who worked 40 hours per week, when, in fact, the
applicant was neither self-employed nor worked the hours represented. Kates also used
her home address as the applicant’s address. Based on the original application and
weekly certifications, the CT-DOL made $27,993 in payments, with Kates taking at least
$1,000 to $1,500 as a fee. When the CT-DOL demanded proof of legal wages and proof
of address, Kates created and provided to the CT-DOL a fraudulent IRS form showing
the applicant’s purported gross wages for 2019, and a cropped photograph of a
business envelope to make it appear that the applicant had lived at the represented
address.

Another source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable
loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In April 2020, Congress authorized more than $300
billion in additional PPP funding. The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses and other
organizations to receive unsecured loans at an interest rate of 1%. PPP loan proceeds
were to be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities.
The PPP allowed the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spent the
proceeds on these expenses within a certain period of time of receipt and used at least a
certain percentage of the amount to be forgiven for payroll.

The PPP was overseen by the Small Business Administration, which has authority over all
PPP loans. Individual PPP loans, however, were issued by private approved lenders,
which received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and
then made loans using the lenders’ own funds, which were guaranteed by the SBA.

In 2021, Kates applied for and received $16,250 through the PPP loan program by
making false representations, including overstating her yearly gross income. Kates also
provided a false IRS filing to support the income figure on the application. She
subsequently provided additional fraudulent information to obtain forgiveness of the
loan.

Kates pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum
term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. Judge Nagala scheduled sentencing
for September 2. Kates is released on a $40,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office
of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector
General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W.
Schmeisser.

Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are
encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for
Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Updated April 3, 2025

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD


Component
USAO - Connecticut


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