FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — A South Florida woman who was captured in Jamaica after landing on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges tied to an alleged multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme....
Escoe had been placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list as investigators sought her in connection with an alleged scheme involving more than $32 million in federal pandemic relief funds. The FBI had offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to her arrest and conviction.
Federal prosecutors allege Escoe and others submitted fraudulent applications seeking money through programs including the Paycheck Protection Program, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Investigators allege the applications relied on fake tax documents, fabricated banking records and false information about businesses.
Not really the sort of entrepreneurial spirit that I wanted.
The final defendant of a six-defendant fraud scheme was convicted late last week of submitting fraudulent applications that sought more than $6.8 million in COVID-19 benefits.
Jahri Asad Cunningham, 48, of Houston, Texas, is the brother of the “mastermind” behind the scheme, Paradise Williams, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the two worked “hand-in-glove” defrauding several relief programs. Cunningham personally received $344,240 in benefits intended for people struggling to keep possession of their homes during the pandemic.
The whole group collected more than $3.3 million during the scheme. U.S. District Judge John H. Chun ordered Cunningham remanded into custody after the guilty verdict was returned and scheduled Cunningham’s sentencing for Nov. 2.
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Four Columbus men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a pandemic-tax-related fraud scheme.CHICAGO — A man who owned a medical management company that operated COVID-19 testing labs pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges he paid a former Loretto Hospital executive’s companies tens of millions of dollars to help facilitate a fake coronavirus testing scheme.
Mohamed “Siraj” Sirajudeen operated O’Hare Clinical Lab Services — a COVID-19 testing company with locations across the country during the height of the pandemic — and owned its management company, Chicago Polyclinic. O’Hare Clinical Lab Services was inundated with complaints during the pandemic, as customers told Block Club at the time they never got their test results or saw reporting of their results delayed by weeks.
Sirajudeen’s O’Hare Clinical Lab Services was also involved in a scheme to bill the federal government almost $900 million for fake COVID-19 tests, prosecutors alleged in a 2025 indictment.
The sentences include prison time, supervised release, and restitution amounts that will go to the United States Treasury.Christopher Upshaw, aka “Troub,” 26 Sentenced to 8 years in prison
Five years of supervised release
Ordered to pay $411,112.21 in restitution
Johnathan Swift, aka “John Boy,” 34 Sentenced to serve five years and three months
Five years of supervised release
Ordered to pay $417,095. 56 in restitution
Dontavis Williams, aka “Turk,” 41 Sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison
Five years of supervised release
Ordered to pay $156,531.74 in restitution
Donterious Sparks, 37 Sentenced to three years and five months in prison
Five years of supervised release
Ordered to pay $311,072.55 in restitution...
According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing, officials say that law enforcement was first alerted to the scheme when unusually large IRS deposits landed in the bank account of 32-year-old Tommie Mullins of Columbus. Investigators made the discovery in a joint law enforcement effort, “Operation Sweet Silence.”
As a result, court-ordered wiretaps caught Mullins discussing a 20% cut from a fraudulent Employee Retention Credit scheme. According to officials, the Employee Retention Credit was a tax credit created for businesses during COVID-19.
Following this information being caught on wiretaps, law enforcement and IRS agents began an investigation into the pandemic tax fraud.
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