Former Louisiana Resident Living in California Charged in Federal Court With Cares Act Fraud

New Orleans, Louisiana – A former Louisiana resident living in California has been charged in federal court with Cares Act fraud.

On Thursday, March 2, 2023, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Brandi Weber, 28, formerly of New Orleans, Louisiana, and now residing in California, was charged on March 1, 2023, in a one-count bill of information with making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act established many new temporary initiatives and permitted the growth of others to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these initiatives, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) permitted forgivable loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to small businesses in order to retain workers and maintain payroll, make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments. The PPP enabled the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven provided the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense categories within a specified amount of time after receiving the proceeds and uses at least a set percentage of the PPP loan funds on payroll expenses.

According to the charge documents, on or about April 2, 2021, Weber made false representations to an approved lender in order to fraudulently obtain a PPP loan, which she later obtained in the sum of about $10,302.00. Weber indicated in her PPP application that she was a self-employed esthetician impacted by the pandemic, however, she had no such business in 2020.

Weber faces up to five years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and three years of supervised release for making false claims. There is also a $100 obligatory special assessment cost that must be paid following conviction. U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that a bill of information is only a charge and that the defendant’s guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Attorney Evans stressed that the bill of information is only a charge and that the defendant’s guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt.

For additional information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, go to https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anybody with information about claims of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can contact the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or use the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Evans applauded the work of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General – Criminal Investigations in investigating this incident. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit.