Lakeland Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For $370,000 COVID Relief Fraud Scheme

Summary

A press release from USAO - Florida, Middle published 2025-05-02, "Lakeland Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For $370,000 COVID Relief Fraud Scheme". It announces that U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Jeanty Cherilus to one year and six months in federal prison for wire fraud and entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $370,000. The release states that Cherilus pleaded guilty on January 22, 2025. It states, according to court documents, that Cherilus was an owner of Natransusa Corporation and through it submitted PPP and EIDL applications with an inflated number of employees and average payroll and fraudulent supporting documentation. It states that the investigation was conducted by USAID OIG with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Task Force.

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Full text

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Jeanty Cherilus (54, Lakeland) to one year and six months in federal prison for wire fraud. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $370,000, the proceeds of Cherilus’s criminal conduct. Cherilus pleaded guilty on January 22, 2025.
According to court documents, Cherilus was an owner of Natransusa Corporation (“NATRANS”), a business that advertised to provide automobile salvage and transportation services. Cherilus, through NATRANS, submitted applications to obtain federal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) to which Cherilus and NATRANS were not entitled. The loan applications had materially false and fraudulent representations, including an inflated number of employees and average payroll, and certifications that the loan proceeds would be used for business-related purposes. Cherilus also included fraudulent supporting documentation to induce the Small Business Administration and an approved lender to fund the loans. After receiving the PPP and EIDL funds, Cherilus used the money for purposes other than what was approved by the terms of the loan and for his own personal enrichment.
“USAID OIG will continue its aggressive pursuit of accountability for bad actors that exploit and abuse federal assistance programs, domestically or overseas,” said Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean Bottary. “As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Task Force, we are proud to partner with the Department of Justice on this and other ongoing cases. As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Task Force, this investigation was conducted by USAID OIG after identifying the fraudulent loan scheme through a USAID-related programming matter.”
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the
NCDF Web Complaint Form
.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Agency for International Development-Office of Inspector General and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo.

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