Prosecutors say a convicted felon wrongly received $25,000 in COVID relief funds from government
Western Tidewater Regional Jail
and last updated 2021-02-11 17:33:22-05
HAMPTON, Va. - A convicted felon was given $25,000 in COVID-19 relief funds from the United States Treasury Department that federal authorities say he wasnât entitled to.
28-year-old Brenden Jefferson of Hampton is accused of applying for a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan back in June, claiming he ran a business out of his house in Hampton. The program, created through the CARES Act, aimed to help small businesses get through the pandemic.
Federal documents state that Jefferson claimed to run a legal services business with seven employees that he said he started back on January 24, 2017.
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By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. Scammers target small businesses seeking disaster assistance
Local business owners in San Joaquin County have been receiving information over the course of the last month about qualifying for up to $250,000 worth of “disaster assistance” funding from the “Small Business Administration.”
The only problem?
The email that has been making the rounds – and has resulted in some businesses turning over sensitive information – isn’t legitimate and is part of a new tactic being deployed by scammers to take advantage of small business owners during the difficult economic times.
Hurting long before COVID-19, failing companies took stimulus money then closed anyway Josh Salman, USA TODAY
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Stein Mart Inc. was desperate for shoppers long before COVID-19 forced closures at its discount department stores, scattered mostly throughout the Southeast.
During the past several years, the Florida retailer had hemorrhaged tens of millions of dollars, while searching for a corporate buyer. Like many struggling businesses, the company in June turned to the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, as a possible savior. The $10-million loan didn’t last long.
Within two months, Stein Mart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing more than $500 million in liabilities. The company closed all 280 stores and 9,000 workers lost their jobs.
A: Borrowers are eligible for a second-draw PPP loan of up to $2 million, provided they have:
300 or fewer employees.
Used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan on or before the expected date for the second PPP loan to be disbursed to the borrower. The IFR also clarifies that the borrower must have spent the full amount of the first PPP loan on eligible expenses.
Experienced a revenue reduction of 25% or more in all or part of 2020 compared with all or part of 2019. This is calculated by comparing gross receipts in any 2020 quarter with an applicable quarter in 2019, or, in a provision added in the IFR, a borrower that was in operation for all four quarters of 2019 can submit copies of its annual tax forms that show a reduction in annual receipts of 25% or greater in 2020 compared with 2019.
And why wouldn t we suspect that the scammers would be tapping into all the buzz about the latest round of stimulus cash?
Now, the Federal Trade Commission is warning Americans to be on the lookout for stimulus-related emails that supposedly are being sent by Joseph Simons, the FTC chairman who resigned Jan. 29.
In the past year, about 324,000 reports relating to COVID-19 and stimulus-related scams and ripoffs have been made to the FTC through Jan. 18. Consumers reported losing $307 million to fraud that plays up the pandemic.
The latest coronavirus relief scam involves emails that are designed to look as if they re coming from an official government agency, and Simons specifically.