LOGAN COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Alexis Ransom, 25, of Logan, was sentenced today to five years of federal probation and ordered today to pay $42,250.00 in restitution for a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of over $42,250.00 in COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning on March 27, 2021, and continuing to August 16, 2021, Ransom applied for three PPP loans for her purported business, Alexis Renae Ransom, which she claimed did business under the tradenames of Renae’s Fashion Consulting LLC and Momma & Me Boutique. Ransom admitted that she falsely stated that Renae’s Fashion Consulting LLC was established in 2019, and had earned $66,900.00 in gross income in 2019 and 2020, and that Momma & Me Boutique earned $69,000.00 in gross income in 2019. The investigation revealed that Ransom’s purported business and its tradenames had not engaged in substantial business activity before February 15, 2020. Ransom further admitted that she submitted a false Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 in connection with the first loan application she submitted for Renae’s Fashion Consulting LLC.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain approved expenses, through the PPP. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities.
Ransom obtained two PPP loans worth $13,937.50 for Renae’s Fashion Consulting LLC, and one PPP loan worth $14,375.00 for Momma & Me Boutique. Ransom admitted that she later applied to have all three PPP loans forgiven even though she had not spent the loan proceeds on permissible business expenses. The SBA forgave her loans on August 16, 2021.
Ransom pleaded guilty to wire fraud. United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and the United States Secret Service.
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Robeson prosecuted the case.