U.S. Department of Labor OIG, North Providence Woman Sentenced for Defrauding the Federal Housing Administration, Business and Unemployment COVID Relief Programs (USAO D-RI 12/21/2022) (2022-12-30)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Rhode Island, dated December 21, 2022, announcing that Juliana Martins, 53, of North Providence was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief John J. McConnell, Jr., to eighteen months in prison and three years of federal supervised release, with restitution totaling $43,537. The release states that Martins admitted giving false explanations of gaps in employment history when applying for an FHA-guaranteed loan, and not disclosing a $385,533 federal restitution order; an FHA-insured mortgage of $265,109 followed. Martins also admitted submitting a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan application in July 2020 and receiving COVID-related unemployment benefits in April 2020 while employed as an office manager. In total, Martins received over $40,000 in COVID relief benefits.

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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, North Providence Woman Sentenced for Defrauding the Federal Housing Administration, Business and Unemployment COVID Relief Programs (USAO D-RI 12/21/2022) (2022-12-30).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-north-providence-woman-sentenced-for-defra-0645d5e732/, SHA-256 38b437bfff6df2769f9186618b913bfb492f9c5a61fd542fab378f20448947d7.

Full text

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Rhode Island

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, December 21, 2022

North Providence Woman Sentenced for Defrauding the
Federal Housing Administration, Business and
Unemployment COVID Relief Programs
PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman convicted of defrauding multiple publicly-funded
programs was sentenced on Tuesday to eighteen months in federal prison for making false
statements when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, a Small
Business Association (SBA) loan, and for fraudulently applying for government-funded COVID
unemployment benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

In March 2022, Juliana Martins, 53, admitted to a federal judge that, while simultaneously on
federal supervised release for her role in a stolen identity and refund scheme, as well as state
probation for an unrelated 2014 conviction for forgery and counterfeiting, Martins applied for an
FHA-guaranteed loan. As part of the application process, she provided false explanations about gaps
in her employment history, claiming that she was unemployed due to a “family emergency,” when in
fact she had been incarcerated and serving an earlier federal sentence. claiming she was Martins also
failed to disclose the fact that she was subject to a $385,533 federal restitution order.

Following the application, Martins and a co-borrower were issued an FHA-insured mortgage in the
amount of $265,109.

Additionally, Martins admitted that in July 2020, she submitted a fraudulent application for a Small
Business Administration (SBA) low-interest COVID-related Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL),
falsely claiming that she was an independent contractor in the health service business, and that her
business had been impacted by the pandemic. Finally, Martins admitted that she fraudulently
applied for and received COVID-related unemployment insurance benefits in April 2020, while she
was in fact employed as an office manager. In total, Martins received over $40,000 in COVID relief
benefits to which she was not entitled.

Martins pleaded guilty on March 2, 2020, to making a false statement on a loan application and theft
of government property. Martins was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Chief John J.
McConnell, Jr., to eighteen months in prison and three years of federal supervised release. The
defendant was ordered to pay restitution totaling $43,537.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys G. Michael Seaman and Sandra R. Hebert.

The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of
Inspector General; U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General; FBI; and Rhode Island
State Police, with the assistance of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training
Unemployment Insurance Fraud Unit.

Rhode Islanders who believe their personal identification has been stolen and used to fraudulently
obtain unemployment benefits are urged to contact the Rhode Island State Police
at financialcrimes@risp.gov or the FBI Providence office at (401) 272-8310.
On May 17, 2021, the United States 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.

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.

###
Topic(s):
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
USAO - Rhode Island
Contact:
Jim Martin (401) 709-5357
Press Release Number:
22-176
Updated December 21, 2022

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File: 2022-12-30-North-Providence-Woman-Sentenced-for-Defrauding-the-Federal-Housing-Administration-Business-and-Une.pdf
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Our copy: 2022-12-30-North-Providence-Woman-Sentenced-for-Defrauding-the-Federal-Housing-Administration-Business-and-Une.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov