U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Spokane Resident Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining More than $360,000 in COVID- 19 Relief Funding (USAO ED-WA 05/31/2023) (2023-06-02)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington, dated May 31, 2023, announcing that Marisa Beck, age 40, of Spokane, pled guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $360,000 in COVID-19 relief funding intended for small businesses. In the plea agreement, Beck admitted obtaining $368,829 in PPP and EIDL funding for Cyra Solar LLC, Beck N’ Call Landscape, LLC and Value in People Consulting, LLC by submitting false payroll, revenue and other information. Beck also admitted that Beck N’ Call Landscape and Cyra Solar were not active businesses as of February 2020. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke set sentencing for September 27, 2023, and the release describes the case as the eighth felony conviction announced by the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force.

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PRESS RELEASE



Spokane Resident Pleads Guilty to
Fraudulently Obtaining More than
$360,000 in COVID- 19 Relief
Funding
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington

Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of Washington, announced today that Marisa Beck, age 40, of Spokane, pled
guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $360,000 in COVID-19 relief funding
intended for endangered small businesses. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke
accepted Ms. Beck’s guilty plea and set sentencing for September 27, 2023, at 11 a.m., in
Spokane. This conviction is the eighth felony conviction announced by the Eastern
Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force, which launched in 2022.

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provided a number of programs
through which eligible small businesses could request and obtain relief funding
intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic for small and local
businesses. One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provided
forgivable loans to eligible small businesses to retain jobs and maintain payroll during
the pandemic. Another program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program,
provided low-interest bridge funding for small businesses placed at risk during the
pandemic.

“COVID-19 relief programs quickly ran out of money due to the number of businesses
that requested funding, meaning that struggling, deserving small businesses were not
able to obtain critically needed funding to keep their businesses afloat during the
shutdowns and disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney
Waldref. “We created the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force because it is
critical to the strength and safety of our communities that we all work together to
combat pandemic-related fraud and bring much-needed accountability to these
programs. The Strike Force works to ensure that limited resources are used to protect
our local small businesses and the critical jobs and services that they provide for the
community.”

In February 2022, U.S. Attorney Waldref and the U.S. Attorney’s Office began working
with federal law enforcement agencies to create and launch a COVID-19 Fraud Strike
Force that would leverage partnerships between different agencies to aggressively
investigate and prosecute fraud against COVID-19 relief programs in Eastern
Washington. The Strike Force consists of agency representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s
Office, Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration (TIGTA), U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI),
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OIG, General Services Administration OIG, Internal
Revenue Service, Department of Energy OIG, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
OIG, Department of Labor OIG, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and others.
Cases investigated and prosecuted by the Strike Force have resulted in numerous
indictments and convictions, and have recovered millions of dollars in penalties and
restitution for the public.

In the plea agreement accepted by the court, and in information disclosed during court
proceedings, Ms. Beck admitted to fraudulently obtaining $368,829 in PPP and EIDL
funding for three purported businesses: Cyra Solar LLC, Beck N’ Call Landscape, LLC, and
Value in People Consulting, LLC. Ms. Beck admitted that these entities were not eligible
for CARES Act funding because Beck N’ Call Landscape and Cyra Solar were not active
businesses as of February 2020, and because she submitted false and fraudulent payroll,
revenue, and other information associated with the three purported businesses in order
to fraudulently obtain CARES Act funding.

“I commend the stellar investigative work on these cases performed by the Strike Force
and especially in this case by VA OIG,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref. “We will continue to
work with our law enforcement partners to strengthen our communities by protecting
our small and local businesses.”

The charges to which Beck pled carries a maximum sentence of up to 5 years in federal
prison. The cases were investigated by the Eastern Washington COVID Fraud Strike
Force, and in particular by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector
General, Spokane Resident Office, with investigative assistance and support from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Spokane Resident Agency, the Small Business
Administration Office of Inspector General, Western Regional Office, and the Internal
Revenue Service, Criminal Investigative Division, Seattle Field Office. Assistant United
States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene are prosecuting this case on
behalf of the United States.

Case No. 2:23-cr-00055-MKD

Contact
Richard Barker
Assistant United States Attorney and Public Affairs Officer
509-835-6311 or richard.barker@usdoj.gov

Updated May 31, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD


Component
USAO - Washington, Eastern


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