ATLANTA — A Roswell woman pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. government out of millions of dollars using the Paycheck Protection Program.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Ellen Corkrum, who legally changed her name to Hunter VanPelt in July 2016, submitted several PPP loan applications under both names.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
VanPelt owned or controlled the six entities that sought these PPP loans:
- Georgia Nephrology Physician Associated,
- United Healthcare Group & Co.,
- Nephrology Network Group LLC,
- First Corporate International,
- Corkrum Consolidated Inc.,
- Kiwi International Inc.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, VanPelt submitted six false and fraudulent PPP loans between April 27, 2020 and June 17, 2020. The amounts requested in the six loans totaled $7,943,591.50, of which $6,017,066.50 was disbursed.
In each of the PPP loan applications, authorities said VanPelt falsely represented the average monthly payroll and the number of employees working for the relevant company. She also is accused of submitting false IRS records, false bank statements, and false payroll reports in connection with those applications.
“The Paycheck Protection Program is key to survival for many small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is particularly disturbing that anyone would try to capitalize off a federal program at those businesses’ expense. The FBI will persist in its efforts to stop such fraud.”
Federal agents were able to seize around $2.1 million of the fraudulent proceeds.
TRENDING STORIES:
- GBI IDs man shot, killed by Cobb County police officer after traffic stop
- Young Jacksonville mother dies from COVID-19 after giving birth to second child
- ‘That’s my good boy’: Video shows K9 finding missing elderly woman in Forsyth County
The PPP allows qualifying small-businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within eight weeks of receipt and use at least 75 percent of the forgiven amount for payroll.
“To support small and community banks, the Federal Home Loan banks can accept Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as collateral when making loans to their members,” said Special Agent in Charge Edwin S. Bonano of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General. “The Office of Inspector General is proud to work with our partners in law enforcement to prevent, detect, and deter attempts to perpetrate fraud in the Federal Home Loan Bank System and steal the assistance intended for small business owners and employees under this important part of the CARES Act.”
VanPelt is scheduled to be sentenced on January 4, 2022.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2021 Cox Media Group
