U.S. Attorney’s Office, W.D. Va.: Roanoke Woman Indicted for COVID Fraud Scheme – Case Advances Fraud Division Crackdown (Sept. 24, 2026)

Summary

A September 24, 2026 U.S. Attorney's Office (W.D. Va.) press release announcing that Jazmin Jennings, 38, of Roanoke, Virginia, was arraigned in federal court after being indicted September 3, 2026 on six charges of making false tax returns and fraudulently obtaining money from two COVID-19-era government programs. According to the indictment as described in the release, her tax returns for 2020, 2022 and 2023 underreported her income and she falsely reported her business's gross receipts on a Paycheck Protection Program application. The release also says the indictment alleges she falsely claimed she was not employed in order to obtain pandemic unemployment benefits. It notes that an indictment is merely an allegation.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Attorney’s Office, W.D. Va.: Roanoke Woman Indicted for COVID Fraud Scheme – Case Advances Fraud Division Crackdown (Sept. 24, 2026).” Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-attorney-s-office-w-d-va-roanoke-woman-indicted-for-covid-fraud-sc-75865adf9d/, SHA-256 da6a4b76fb4ae40b51cbb860755d79984c58d6c52dad98f3fd11536af7cbf1ae.

Full text

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 "body": "<p>ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke, Virginia woman, who allegedly obtained money from two separate COVID-19-era government programs and then lied on her taxes, was arraigned yesterday in federal court.&nbsp;</p><p>Jazmin Jennings, 38, was indicted September 3, 2026 on six charges of making false tax returns and fraudulently obtaining money from two separate COVID-19-era government programs.</p><p>According to the indictment, Jennings submitted tax returns for 2020, 2022, and 2023, which falsely underreported her income and did not disclose the operation of her home healthcare business.</p><p>The indictment further alleges that Jennings exploited the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a COVID-19 relief program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses.&nbsp; As relayed in the indictment, Jennings’s PPP application falsely reported her business’s gross receipts and claimed that the PPP funds would be used for authorized purposes.&nbsp; Jennings obtained her PPP loan with the help of Jameika Austin.&nbsp; Austin is currently serving 8 years in federal prison for her role in submitting over 100 fraudulent PPP loan applications that caused the disbursement of almost $2,000,000 in PPP funds.</p><p>Finally, the indictment alleges that Jennings also exploited pandemic unemployment benefits by falsely claiming that she was not employed, when in actuality she was employed through her business.</p><p>First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci; Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division; and Kareem A. Carter, Special Agent in Charge of IRS – Criminal Investigation, Washington DC Field Office, made the announcement.</p><p>The FBI and IRS – Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.</p><p>Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman is prosecuting the case.&nbsp;</p><p>On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.</p><p><em>An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.</em></p>",
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 "teaser": "<p>ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke, Virginia woman, who allegedly obtained money from two separate COVID-19-era government programs and then lied on her taxes, was arraigned yesterday in federal court.&nbsp;</p><p>Jazmin Jennings, 38, was indicted September 3, 2026 on six charges of making false tax returns and fraudulently obtaining money from two separate COVID-19-era government programs.</p>",
 "title": "Roanoke Woman Indicted for COVID Fraud Scheme –  Case Advances Fraud Division Crackdown ",
 "topic": [
  {
   "uuid": "32b4d47b-2142-420c-9aae-28f7bf2c86d4",
   "name": "Fraud"
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   "uuid": "6827a162-b783-4ffa-a6c2-596fc9f07e39",
   "name": "COVID-Related Fraud"
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   "name": "Tax"
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 "url": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/roanoke-woman-indicted-covid-fraud-scheme-case-advances-fraud-division-crackdown",
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File and source

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Our copy: doj-usao-wdva-press-release-roanoke-woman-indicted-covid-fraud-scheme-case-advances-frau-2026-09-24.json
Original: www.justice.gov