$4.5M Augusta COVID Aid Fraud Case Tops List for Federal Prosecutors; Former New Hampshire State Senator Accused of Using COVID-19 Relief Funds to Buy Luxury Cars, and other C-Virus related stories
$4.5M Augusta COVID aid fraud case tops list for federal prosecutors:
The case of a Richmond County man was the biggest one during a summer-long federal crackdown on COVID aid fraud in the region.
Kamario Thomas, 42, of Augusta, was sentenced earlier this summer to 38 months in prison for a $4.5 million scheme to submit fraudulent applications for COVID-19 small business relief funding.
Thomas submitted more than 60 fraudulent loan applications for pandemic relief and got hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. Thomas was ordered to pay full restitution of $4.5 million.
The case was more than 20 in the federal court system’s Southern District of Georgia from May through July, involving a total of $10.9 million in alleged COVID-19 relief fraud.
Thomas’ case was the largest of them in terms of monetary value, according to a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg.
Funding through the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act provided more than $650 billion to assist small businesses.
“Unfortunately, fraudsters tapped into this program for their own profit, and this nationwide effort seeks to hold them accountable for their widespread fraud,” Steinberg said. —>READ MORE HERE
Former New Hampshire state senator accused of using COVID-19 relief funds to buy luxury cars:
A former state senator was accused Thursday of lying in order to get a COVID-19 relief loan for his casino and using the money to buy luxury cars for himself and his wife, a Republican leader in the New Hampshire House.
The allegations against former Sen. Andy Sanborn were announced by the attorney general’s office, which reviews the owners of charitable gaming businesses every five years. Sanborn owns the Concord Casino within The Draft Sports Bar and Grill in Concord and is seeking to open a much larger venue a few miles away, but the state lottery commission is now moving to permanently ban him from operating any such business.
In an email, Sanborn said he strongly disagrees with the commission’s findings and welcomes the chance to challenge them at a hearing.
“I have full confidence our actions were transparent and in complete accordance of the law,” he said.
In the meantime, federal authorities have been notified, and the state has begun a criminal investigation, said Attorney General John Formella.
“This case highlights the importance of law enforcement’s role in keeping illegal activity out of New Hampshire’s charitable gaming industry,” he said in a statement. “Our obligation to protect the public demands that we take action against any person who is found to have used their regulated casino to enrich themselves with fraudulently obtained taxpayer funds.” —>READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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