Calah Williams, 29, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, has been sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding multiple government agencies by filing fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Williams was convicted of submitting 42 EIDL applications, 16 PPP applications, and 177 fraudulent UI benefit applications, seeking nearly $4.9 million in total. She used stolen personally identifying information and provided false data on income, employees, and other application details. While much of her fraud was detected, Williams successfully obtained approximately $1,026,241 from the various programs.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced Williams to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $1,026,241.
“This prosecution demonstrates our office’s continuing commitment to holding individuals accountable for defrauding the CARES Act program,” stated U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal prosecuted the case.
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