US District Judge Terence C. Kern has sentenced a Tusla, Oklahoma woman to 18 months in prison for falsely using a pandemic and economic crisis loan to bankroll her gambling at casinos.
hatched a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration
According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Judge Kern charged Carmen Leann Oliver, 34, with wire fraud on Tuesday. Court documents reveal that from August 2020 to July 2021 Oliver hatched a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA).
By lying on her application form, she was able to receive proceeds from an Economic Injury Disaster Loan intended for her business’s operating costs.
The DOJ stated that Oliver met the loan requirements by alleging she had five employees “and revenue prior to January 2020.” The SBA approved the loan, which was paid into Oliver’s account. She then used the loan money “for personal use including gambling at various casinos.”
Besides time in a federal prison, Judge Kern gave Oliver five years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $170,832 in restitution.
The judge allowed Oliver to remain free on bond, but she must voluntarily turn herself in to a US Bureau of Prisons facility.