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Karen Gaston, 44, of East Granby, pleaded guilty Thursday in New Haven to multiple offenses after defrauding COVID-19 pandemic relief programs.
A Connecticut woman has admitted to orchestrating a scheme in which she defrauded COVID-19 pandemic relief programs out of over $1.1 million.
Karen Gaston, 44, of East Granby, waived her right to be indicted on Thursday and pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to multiple offenses, according to a report from the Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, began providing financial assistance to Americans suffering economic setbacks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CARES Act enabled the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.
The PPP was coordinated by the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA, and individual PPP loans were issued by private lenders, who received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation. They then made loans using lenders’ own funds, which the SBA guaranteed.
The CARES Act additionally authorized SBA to distribute Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDLs, which offered working capital to eligible small businesses to meet operating expenses. These included sole proprietors.
Court documents and statements reveal that in 2020, Gaston controlled certain entities such as LNK, Elegant Clinical, Ruby Red LLC and Diamond Shine LLC. Prosecutors said LNK and Diamond Shine LLC were operational but shared resources and workers.
Ruby Red LLC had just one client, and Gaston was its sole proprietor. Meanwhile, Elegant Clinical wasn’t operational at the time. --->READ MORE HERE
A Golden Valley man has entered a guilty plea concerning his involvement in a fraudulent scheme that aimed to siphon funds from a federal child nutrition program meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The accused, Ahmed Mohamed Artan, age 40, is facing charges of wire fraud and is facing consequences for this, his forty-sixth conviction, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Artan entered his guilty plea in the U.S. District Court with Judge Eric C. Tostrud presiding, setting the stage for a sentencing hearing that will be scheduled at a later date, the U.S. Attorney's Office states. His plea joins a series of legal proceedings that stem from an expansive investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; a network of scams that aimed to nourish children during an era of crisis.
Operating within a web of deception, court documents reveal that he and his co-conspirators utilized a nonprofit organization, Stigma-Free International, and a tangle of shell companies to create fraudulent meal sites across Minnesota. These sites claimed to serve countless meals to children daily, but the submitted meal count sheets, invoices, and attendance rosters detailing the names of supposed beneficiaries were counterfeit, according to court documentation. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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