Louisiana Woman Indicted in Connection with Fraudulent Unemployment and PPP Loans

A federal grand jury in Louisiana recently returned a three-count indictment charging Tynea Lynnshay Gray, 23, of Donaldsonville and Prairieville, Louisiana, with mail and wire fraud. Gray appeared in court for her arraignment and pled not guilty to the pending charges.

According to the indictment, Gray filed claims for unemployment insurance benefits in California in her own name and the names of others between June 2020 and October 2021. Gray also claimed Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) benefits in the names of fictitious businesses and based on fictitious business profits and losses.

Gray also obtained the names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of others and filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in their names, both with and without their knowledge or consent. Gray obtained identifying information from people via social media and used it to file numerous unemployment insurance claims. She either gave a portion of the funds to others or kept all of the funds after submitting the claims and receiving the funds. Gray obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in prepaid debit cards through her scheme.

Gray also devised a scheme in February 2021 to defraud a lender and the United States via the Small Business Administration by filing false and fraudulent applications for PPP funds. In furtherance of the scheme, she submitted a false and misleading PPP application seeking PPP funds on or about February 2, 2021, under the business name “Royaldiamondzkollection LLC.” Gray submitted a forged bank statement, falsified tax documents, and lied on her PPP applications.

Gray caused over $550,000 in prepaid debit cards to be mailed to her addresses during the course of the fraudulent schemes, which she and others were not entitled to. Gray also had $20,833 deposited into her bank account that she was not entitled to.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor-OIG are investigating the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward H. Warner.

An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.