Jacksonville Woman Sentenced To Federal Prison For Credit Scheme And COVID Relief Fraud Involving The Paycheck Protection Program
Summary
U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger sentenced Crystal Denean Harvell, 37, of Jacksonville, to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a line of credit scheme and for wire fraud through the Paycheck Protection Program. Restitution was set at $131,782.63, and Harvell agreed to forfeit $20,415. From February 2016 through September 2019, the release says, Harvell and co-conspirators fraudulently obtained other people's Social Security numbers and recruited individuals to open lines of credit at businesses with them, then obtained jewelry and other merchandise. In April 2021 Harvell applied for a PPP loan for a business that did not exist, with a false IRS Form 1040 profit-and-loss statement, and received $20,415. A forgiveness application in October 2021 falsely claimed more than $18,000 in payroll costs, and the SBA forgave the entire loan plus accrued interest.
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Full text
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger has sentenced Crystal Denean Harvell (37, Jacksonville) to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving a line of credit scheme and wire fraud involving COVID relief fraud through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The court also ordered Harvell to pay $131,782.63 in restitution to the victims she defrauded and to the United States government. Harvell agreed to forfeit $20,415, which is traceable to proceeds of the wire fraud offense involving COVID relief fraud. Harvell entered a guilty plea on September 4, 2024. According to court documents, Harvell and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of others. From February 2016 through September 2019, Harvell and others recruited individuals to obtain lines of credit at various businesses using the SSNs. After fraudulently obtaining the lines of credit, they obtained jewelry and other merchandise. Harvell resold some of the merchandise and lines of credit on social media platforms. In April 2021, Harvell submitted a PPP loan application to a lender authorized by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to lend funds for approved PPP loan applications. The PPP loan application falsely claimed that Harvell operated her own business. Throughout the loan application Harvell made multiple false statements regarding her purported gross income and expenses associated with operating her business. In support of her PPP loan application, she submitted a false IRS Form 1040 - Profit or Loss From Business. It contained false statements about operating expenses, gross income, and wage expenditures for her purported business. Harvell’s business did not exist. In reliance on the false statements made in her loan application, Harvell’s application was approved, and she received a PPP loan totaling $20,415. After receiving the PPP loan proceeds in her bank account, Harvell began making withdrawals and spending the funds on personal expenses. In October 2021, Harvell submitted a PPP loan forgiveness application to the SBA that included multiple false representations. In the application, she falsely claimed that she spent more than $18,000 on payroll costs and that the PPP loan proceeds were only used for eligible purposes. In reliance on her false statements the SBA forgave the entire loan, plus accrued interest. This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service – Jacksonville Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein. The asset forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.
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