Raisha Kelly, 43, and Widny Thibaud, 44, of Loxahatchee, Fla. and Cortira Gray, 33, and Ann Gilchrist, 55 of Miami, Fla., have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with their submission of false and fraudulent PPP loan applications.
According to allegations in the indictment and statements made in open court, Kelly, Thibaud, Gray and Gilchrist conspired with themselves and others to submit PPP loan applications and submitted and caused the submission of fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications, on behalf of themselves and corporate entities that they controlled. Kelly, in return for the payment of kickbacks, submitted and caused the submission of false and fraudulent PPP loan applications for Gilchrist, Gray and others. Kelly, Thibaud, Gray and Gilchrist submitted and caused the submission of false and fraudulent information and documentation in support of the PPP loan applications, including falsified Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms, among other things that falsely and fraudulently represented the annual gross receipts and tentative profits of the sole proprietorships and corporate entities they controlled. In total, this conspiracy caused PPP lenders to make approximately $1.3 million in loans to Kelly, Thibaud, Gray, Gilchrist and their co-conspirators.
According to allegations, during the commission of the conspiracy Gray was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and Gilchrist was an employee of the Miami-Dade Transit Department.
Thibaud is also charged with a separate wire fraud scheme for his submission of a false and fraudulent mortgage loan application to a mortgage lender that caused Thibaud to receive a $700,000 mortgage for which he was not qualified.
Gray, Gilcrhist and Kelly had their initial appearances on March 11. Thibaud had his initial appearance on March 12.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan Ulrich, special agent in charge, USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG), Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG), Investigations Division’s Eastern Region, and Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Southeast Region made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the USPS OIG, SBA OIG, and DOL-OIG. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bernstein.