Five People Indicted in Rockford for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $1 Million in Federal Benefits

Summary

An SBA Office of Inspector General news post dated July 25, 2025 carries a Justice Department announcement that a federal grand jury in Rockford indicted five people on charges alleging more than $1 million in federal benefit fraud. The indictment charges Tyesha Bowman, 32, of Beloit, Wis., with thirty-four counts of mail and wire fraud, Libra Martin, 48, with fourteen counts of wire fraud, Lamont Foster, 38, with eight counts, Khadijah Brown, 31, with two counts of mail fraud and Sieta Carrington, 36, with one count of mail fraud. It alleges that Bowman and Martin fraudulently obtained over $500,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, and that Bowman, Foster, Brown and Carrington obtained over $500,000 from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. Each count carries up to 20 years; the defendants are presumed innocent.

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

# Five People Indicted in Rockford for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $1 Million in Federal Benefits

Click Here to Sign Up for SBA OIG Email Updates on Recent Investigative Cases, Audit Oversight Reports, and General News

Click Here to View the Original U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release

Five individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Rockford in a scheme alleging more than $1 million in federal benefit fraud.

The indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Rockford charges TYESHA BOWMAN, 32, of Beloit, Wis., with thirty-four counts of mail and wire fraud; LIBRA MARTIN, 48, of Rockford, with fourteen counts of wire fraud; LAMONT FOSTER, 38, of Rockford, with eight counts of mail and wire fraud; KHADIJAH BROWN, 31, of Rockford, with two counts of mail fraud; and SIETA CARRINGTON, 36, of Rockford, with one count of mail fraud. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.

According to the indictment, Bowman and Martin schemed to defraud and fraudulently obtain over $500,000 in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, both programs enacted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). Bowman, Foster, Brown, and Carrington schemed to defraud and fraudulently obtain over $500,000 in connection with the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count of mail and wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

File and source

File

sba-oig-news-2025-07-25-five-people-indicted-rockford-fraudulently-obtaining-more-1-million-federal-bene.html

Size

35,437 bytes

SHA-256

a9d1d295a396e1d20a9bf8fcd83efbc14626c08cc914670d087f1a7fd7af7a28

Our copy

sba-oig-news-2025-07-25-five-people-indicted-rockford-fraudulently-obtaining-more-1-million-federal-bene.html

Original

legacy.sba.gov