Two Georgia siblings were sentenced to federal prison and ordered to repay stolen monies after pleading guilty to a fraud scheme.
La’Kyera Me’Lika Thurmond, 35, of Snellville, Ga., and Brandon Jamal Thurmond, 34, of Lilburn, Ga., were sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to Jill E. Steinberg, US Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Each was sentenced to 21 months in jail, followed by three years on supervised release. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered the siblings to pay $140,228 in restitution.
“Programs that provided unemployment benefits and disaster relief served as a lifeline to small businesses during the pandemic,” stated U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “The Thurmonds’ greed-fueled scheme targeted both programs, and they’re now being held accountable for their crimes.”
According to court documents and testimony, the Thurmonds used fraudulent documents to file for unemployment benefits in multiple states for Brandon Thurmond, who was serving a prison sentence on state charges in Georgia at the time and thus ineligible for benefits, as well as for other individuals through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program and other relief efforts.
The Thurmond siblings also submitted many false applications for Paycheck Protection Program funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which is handled by the Small Business Administration.
The restitution in this case involves payments that the Thurmonds and others allegedly received for unemployment benefits from Georgia and Arizona, as well as COVID-19 relief payments from the SBA and a financial services company.
“It is disheartening to see the willingness of some individuals to take advantage of programs designed to assist people in need during a national and global crisis,” said Matthew Ploskunak, Senior Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI Atlanta’s Augusta office. “The Thurmonds’ personal avarice affects every taxpaying citizen, particularly those who need assistance the most. “The FBI will make every effort to ensure that federal funds are used as intended.”
“Abusing SBA’s pandemic relief programs, which are intended to provide critical relief to small businesses, is unconscionable,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge, Amaleka McCall-Braithwaite. “This sentencing demonstrates that the OIG will persistently investigate fraudsters and bring them to justice. I’d want to congratulate the US Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their work and commitment to ensuring justice is served.”
“These current sentencings of those who committed fraud on COVID-19 relief programs send a message that those who did the same will be held accountable,” stated Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue finding and investigating individuals who chose greed over the well-being of their fellow Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The Thurmonds perpetrated an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scam aimed at many state workforce agencies. They used other people’s identities to submit false user interface applications. As a result, they misappropriated unemployment insurance funds intended for those who suffered financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak,” stated Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of these critical benefits programs” as per thegeorgiavirtue
The FBI, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the IRS Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Labor all investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer A. Stanley prosecuted it on behalf of the United States.