Woman Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Louisiana to Preparing Over 110 Fraudulent PPP Loans Totaling Over $1.1 Million

New Orleans, Louisiana – A woman has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Louisiana to preparing over 110 fraudulent PPP loans totaling over $1.1 Million

United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced on March 3, 2023, that Sharnae Every (“Every”), age 27, of Houston, Texas, pled guilty on March 2, 2023, to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Response Accountability Committee ("PRAC") referred the case against Every due to possible fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans. Authorities discovered at least 110 PPP sole proprietor loan applications in and around Thibodeaux, Louisiana, all of which contained identical invoices and federal tax forms ("Schedule C") with the same business name and amounts.

According to court filings, Every established a fictional company called "Natural Hair Afro, LLC, Houma, Louisiana 70360" and used this fictitious company name on nearly all of the fraudulent PPP loan applications. Every advertised on Facebook using numerous aliases in order to recruit others to participate in the PPP scheme. Every single one of them produced and filed bogus and fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan applications through numerous online portals, including but not limited to Blueacorn. Every one of the phony and fraudulent invoices, bank statements, and Schedule Cs was fabricated by them. When she electronically filed the fraudulent PPP loan applications, she falsely declared that the applications and information given in the accompanying documents were authentic and accurate.

Every person she hired to prepare and submit the false PPP application was charged between $45.00 and $120.00. To receive the initial payments, everyone largely used Cash App. Once the loans were funded, each was charged around $3,500.00. These funds were deposited into her current account, her Cash App account, or her boyfriend's current account.

Every faces a maximum punishment of twenty (20) years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000.00, or twice the defendant's gross gain or twice the defendant's gross loss to any person, followed by three (3) years of supervised release and a $100.00 required special assessment charge.

The case is slated for sentencing on June 8, 2023, before Chief United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier.

The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force on May 17, 2021, to marshal the Department of Justice's resources in collaboration with agencies across government to strengthen efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other things, 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. Visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus for additional information on the Department's response to the pandemic. The Veterans Administration's Office of Inspector General participates in the PRAC Fraud Task Force.

Please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus for more information on the Department of Justice's response to the pandemic. Anyone with information about allegations 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 submit a complaint using the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

An agent assigned to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force investigated this case. The PRAC was formed to assist the American people by increasing openness and facilitating coordinated supervision of the federal government's COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC's 21 Inspectors General assesses important risks that cross program and agency boundaries in order to discover fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in COVID-19 spending totaling more than $5 trillion. The PRAC Fraud Task Force gathers agents from 15 Inspectors General together to investigate fraud in a number of programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program.

The US Attorney's Office would also like to thank the Veterans Administration's Office of the Inspector General; the US Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General; the US Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations; and the US Secret Service's Cyber Fraud Task Force, which included the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Thibodaux Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Edward Rivera, COVID-19 Fraud Coordinator, are prosecuting this case.