U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Former Louisiana Woman Pled Guilty To Preparing Over 110 Fraudulent PPP Loans Totaling Over $1.1 Million Dollars (USAO ED-LA 03/03/2023) (2023-03-06)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, dated Friday, March 3, 2023, announcing that Sharnae Every, age 27, of Houston, Texas, pled guilty on March 2, 2023 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. According to documents filed in federal court, Every created a fictitious business called "Natural Hair Afro, LLC" and used the name on nearly all of the fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan applications. The release states that Every charged recruits from $45.00 to $120.00 and approximately $3,500.00 once the loans were funded. Sentencing is scheduled for June 8, 2023 before Chief United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier, and the maximum penalty listed is twenty (20) years imprisonment.

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Former Louisiana Woman Pled
Guilty To Preparing Over 110
Fraudulent PPP Loans Totaling
Over $1.1 Million Dollars
Friday, March 3, 2023


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
shane.jones@usdoj.gov


NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced
today that SHARNAE EVERY (“EVERY”), age 27, of Houston, Texas, pled guilty on
March 2, 2023 to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 1349.

The case against EVERY began as a referral from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee (“PRAC”) regarding possible fraudulent Paycheck Protection
Program (“PPP”) loans . Investigators determined there were at least 110 PPP sole
proprietor loan applications in and around the Thibodeaux, Louisiana area that all
contained the same invoices and federal tax forms (“Schedule C”) with the same
business name and amounts.

According to documents filed in federal court, EVERY created a fictitious business called
“Natural Hair Afro, LLC, Houma, LA 70360” and used this fictitious business name on
nearly all of the fraudulent PPP loan applications. EVERY advertised under various
aliases on Facebook to recruit individuals to obtain money from the PPP
program. EVERY prepared and submitted false and fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan
applications via various online portals including, but not limited, to
Blueacorn. EVERY created all of the false and fraudulent invoices, bank statements, and
Schedule Cs. EVERY falsely certified that the applications and the information provided
in the supporting documents were true and accurate when she electronically submitted
the fraudulent PPP loan applications.
EVERY charged the individuals she recruited to prepare and submit the fraudulent PPP
application anywhere from $45.00 to $120.00 . EVERY primarily used Cash App to
receive the initial payments. EVERY then charged approximately $3,500.00 once the
loans were funded. EVERY received these funds into her Current account, her Cash App
account, or into her boyfriend’s Current account.

EVERY faces a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years imprisonment and/or a fine of
$250,000.00 or twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to any
person, followed by a term of supervised release for up to three (3) years, and a $100.00
mandatory special assessment fee.

Sentencing in this matter is scheduled for June 8, 2023 before Chief United States
District Judge Carl J. Barbier.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with
agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-
related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most
culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with
administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting
and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and
techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing
information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information
on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. The Veterans Administration, Office of the
Inspector General, is an active member of the PRAC Fraud Task Force.

For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. 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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF
Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-
form.

This case was investigated by an agent assigned to the Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to serve
the American public by promoting transparency and facilitating coordinated oversight
of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC’s 21 member
Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to
detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-
19 spending. The PRAC Fraud Task Force brings together agents from 15 Inspectors
General to investigate fraud involving a variety of programs, including the Paycheck
Protection Program.

The United States Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the
Veterans Administration, Office of the Inspector General; United States Department of
Labor, Office of the Inspector General; United States Department of Homeland Security,
Homeland Security Investigations; and the United States Secret Service’s Cyber Fraud
Task Force, consisting of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s
Office, Thibodeaux Police Department, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation with
this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States
Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, and Assistant United States
Attorney Edward Rivera, COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator.

                                          * * *
Contact
Shane M. Jones

Public Information Officer

United States Attorney's Office

United States Department of Justice
Updated March 6, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

FINANCIAL FRAUD
Component
USAO - Louisiana, Eastern


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