JERSEY CITY, NJ — A federal jury has convicted a New Jersey woman in a COVID-19 relief fraud case involving a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan submitted on behalf of a co-conspirator in Charleston.
KISHA SUTTON, 44, of Jersey City, was found guilty this week of aiding and abetting bank fraud and aiding and abetting laundering of monetary instruments. Sutton submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application on April 19, 2021, falsely claiming that co-defendant SHAMIESE WRIGHT was a self-employed individual with $75,000 in gross income in 2020.
Evidence presented at trial showed Wright was not self-employed, had never earned that income, and was actually receiving unemployment benefits during 2020. Prosecutors established that Sutton knowingly submitted the fabricated application and attached a falsified IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, to secure the loan.
Wright’s application was approved by a Florida-based lender, and $15,625 in PPP funds were deposited into her personal account on May 7, 2021. Between May 7 and May 21, Wright transferred $3,000 of the loan proceeds to Sutton using a digital wallet application, with misleading descriptions to conceal the fraud.
Under the CARES Act, PPP loans were intended to provide financial relief to qualifying sole proprietors and small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loan recipients were required to certify the legitimacy of their claims and income documentation.
Sutton is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13 and faces up to 50 years in federal prison. Restitution will be determined at sentencing.
Wright, 32, of Charleston, pleaded guilty last week to aiding and abetting the laundering of monetary instruments and is set to be sentenced on October 29. Four other individuals—WILLIAM POWELL, DAMISHA BROWN, and JASMINE SPENCER, all from West Virginia—have also pleaded guilty in connection with the broader scheme, which federal prosecutors say involved at least $140,625 in fraudulent PPP loans.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the West Virginia State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office Public Integrity and Fraud Unit.
Sutton is the first to be convicted at trial in the scheme that federal agents say defrauded COVID relief programs through coordinated lies and falsified records.
