JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and fraud involving COVID-19 relief fraud through the Paycheck Protection Program, according to the Department of Justice.
Officials said the woman faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count and restitution payment to the victims she defrauded and to the U.S. government.
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She also agreed to forfeit $20,415, which is traceable to the wire fraud offense involving COVID-19 relief fraud.
Court documents said she and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained people’s social security numbers.
Investigators said from Feb. 2016 through Sept. 2019, she and others recruited people to get lines of credit at various businesses using the social security numbers.
Officials said they used the credit lines to buy jewelry and other merchandise and resold it on social media.
The DOJ said in April 2021, she submitted a PPP loan application to a lender authorized by the Small Business Administration.
The application falsely claimed that she operated her own business and made other false statements about her gross income and expenses.
Court documents said she also submitted an IRS Form 1040 that contained false statements about operating expenses, gross income, and other wage expenditures.
Her false application was approved and she received a loan of $20,415.
Investigators said she then spent the money on personal expenses.
In Oct. 2021, Harvell submitted a PPP loan forgiveness application that falsely claimed that she spent more than $18,000 on payroll costs and that the loan was only used for eligible purposes.
The SBA forgave the loan plus accrued interest based on the false statements.