7 Dallas Family Members Plead Guilty To PPP Loan Fraud

The Dallas family admitted to conspiracy and wire fraud after creating fake businesses to receive federal relief funds.

On June 18, A Dallas family pled guilty to defrauding the government by receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Seven adults, Lori Jackson, 63, Saidrick Jackson, 61, Saidrick Jackson II, 36, Saundria Jackson, 36, D’Andria Todd, 46, Bianca Williams, 33, and Valencia Williams, 53, admitted to conspiracy and wire fraud, according to the Northern District of Texas US Attorney’s office.

The Jackson and Williams family claimed to have owned various establishments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fabrication of the false small business establishments allowed the members to file for federal relief. Each family member claimed a monthly income of $8,000. The fabricated businesses ranged from a beauty salon to a childcare center to a youth sports league.

“The PPP loan applications that were submitted falsely claimed each family member was a sole proprietor with a monthly payroll of approximately $8,000. Purported tax documents filed in support of the applications provided additional false details about the sole proprietorships, including the type of businesses and annual net profits. PPP loans were approved and deposited into the family members’ personal bank accounts. In their plea papers, each family member admitted to receiving federal funds issued to non-existent businesses,” the US attorney’s statement read.

Each defendant faces a sentence of three to five years in federal prison.

Payment Protection Program Prosecution

The Dallas family members are not the only PPP loan scammers to face consequences for defrauding the program.

On May 28, 18 individuals in California were charged with obtaining over $25 million in relief funds. The defendants did operate multiple legitimate establishments. However, each conspired to inflate the employee count and employee pay. The cohort established an intricate scheme to funnel the funds.

“They allegedly submitted at least 29 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications that fraudulently inflated payroll expenses, doctoring bank statements and Internal Revenue Service tax forms to falsely reflect business income. They then routed PPP loan funds through a series of bank accounts to create a false paper trail of payroll expenses.”

Four of the defendants fled to Armenia, escaping prosecution. Five years after the pandemic, the government has vowed to track down abusers of the PPP program.