Santa Clara Woman Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $2.8 Million In Pandemic Relief Funds
Summary
Cassie Will-Darnall, 53, of Santa Clara, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts to 18 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for fraudulently obtaining more than $2.8 million in pandemic relief funds. Will-Darnall pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2025 to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud arising from two Paycheck Protection Program loans. Will-Darnall admitted that in May 2020 a PPP application to Lender 1 falsely claimed Alternative Health Services Inc. had 10 employees and an average monthly payroll of $387,595.67, bringing a $968,989 loan, and that in July 2020 an application to Lender 2 claimed Rosswood Properties LLC had 35 employees and $816,551 in monthly payroll, bringing $1,864,565; neither company had employees or payroll. Forfeiture and restitution hearings were set for Oct. 14, 2025 and Dec. 3, 2025.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Full text
SAN JOSE – Cassie Will-Darnall was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $2.8 million in pandemic relief funds. U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts handed down the sentence. Will-Darnall, 53, of Santa Clara, pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2025, to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud arising out of two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans she obtained. The PPP was administered by the SBA as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide billions of dollars in emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PPP provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other qualified business expenses. PPP funds were disbursed by SBA-approved third-party lenders. In connection with pleading guilty, Will-Darnall admitted that in May 2020, she fraudulently submitted a PPP application to Lender 1 as the sole partner of Alternative Health Services Inc., falsely stating that the company had 10 employees and an average monthly payroll of $387,595.67, when it had no employees and no payroll. Based on the false information, Lender 1 approved and funded the PPP loan in the amount of $968,989. In July 2020, Will-Darnall submitted a PPP application to Lender 2 as the CEO of Rosswood Properties LLC, falsely stating that the company had 35 employees and an average monthly payroll of $816,551, when it had no employees and no payroll. Based on the false information, Lender 2 approved and funded the PPP loan in the amount of $1,864,565. United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo, and SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Western Region Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Huang made the announcement. In addition to the prison term, Judge Pitts also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release. Judge Pitts set a hearing on forfeiture on Oct. 14, 2025, and a hearing on restitution on Dec. 3, 2025. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on Jan. 7, 2026. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Griswold and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Johnny E. James Jr. prosecuted the case with the assistance of Veronica Hernandez, Lynette Dixon, and Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and SBA-OIG.
File and source
- File
- doj-usao-ndca-press-release-santa-clara-woman-sentenced-18-months-prison-fraudulently-obtaining-more-28-million-2025-09-24.json
- Size
- 3,373 bytes
- SHA-256
- 38bde01452c786c2634c70606e535f03f54c2e0e1bfe1ac802d3b2a75269755b
- Original
- www.justice.gov