Tuesday, January 10, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina
FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA — Three defendants – all of whom were U.S. Postal Service employees during this alleged fraud scheme – have been charged in the District of South Carolina for their alleged roles in a fraud scheme related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The scheme involved as many as 400 fraudulent PPP loan applications, the majority of which were for applicants in South Carolina. The indictment alleges the scheme resulted in more than $1 million in fraudulently obtained PPP loans, and according to evidence presented at the defendants’ bond hearing, that figure may be as high as $8 million.
The indicted defendants are:
Tiffany McFadden, 40, a former U.S. Postal Service employee from Brooklyn, New York, and Port St. Lucie, Florida;
Cherry Lewis, 43, a U.S. Postal Service employee from Johnsonville, South Carolina; and
Keisha Lewis, 33, a U.S. Postal Service employee from Hemingway, South Carolina.
The indictment alleges that the defendants were part of a national scheme, led by McFadden, that fraudulently acquired PPP loans. The PPP loan program was administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses during, and resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Link to full report here.
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