Georgia Woman Pleads Guilty of Bank Fraud Worth $7.9 Million in COVID-19 Relief Funds

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EL SALVADOR-CRIME-GANGS-PRISON
An handcuffed inmates members of a gang waits upon arrival at the maximum security prison in Zacatecoluca, 65 km east of San Salvador, on August 30, 2017. Thirty-five members of violent gangs arrested in connection with the murders of policemen and soldiers, were transferred on August 30 to Zacatecoluca, the Salvadoran authorities reported. / AFP PHOTO / MARVIN RECINOS (not the actual story)

A Georgia woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding the COVID-19 relief funds of almost $7.9 million. Hunter VanPelt, 49, submitted six false Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans between April and June 2020, totaling $7.9 million if fully paid, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

On Wednesday, VanPelt pleaded guilty to bank fraud in the Northern District of Georgia. On January 4, she will return to court for a sentencing hearing, when she might face up to 30 years in prison.

A woman made fake PPP loans for six companies

Although PPP funds are technically loans, they are frequently used in fraud schemes since they are totally refundable-that is, they never have to be repaid. The DOJ and law enforcement partners were able to confiscate and reclaim $2.1 million of the more than $6 million in illegal loans made to VanPelt, while a bank seized and returned another $1.6 million to the lender. Over $2 million has yet to be found.

"PPP funds should be reserved for legitimate businesses and their hard-working employees who have suffered economically as a result of the pandemic," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the DOJ's Criminal Division in a statement.

VanPelt filed for PPP loans on behalf of six firms she owned, according to court documents: United Healthcare Group & Co., Georgia Nephrology Physician Associated, Nephrology Network Group LLC, Kiwi International Inc., Corkrum Consolidated Inc., and First Corporate International.

VanPelt supplied fraudulent information regarding costs and personnel, as well as fake bank statements, payroll reports, and tax records, to acquire the loans. Except for a $1.9 million loan she sought on behalf of Corkrum Consolidated Inc., all of the loans she filed for were fully funded, Newsweek reported.

VanPelt was born Ellen Corkrum and legally changed her name to VanPelt in July 2016. Hunter Lauren VanPelt and Ellen Yabba Kwame Corkrum were her other names. According to the feds, she submitted half of the fake PPP loans under the name Ellen Corkrum, which she continued to use despite the official name change, according to an investigation.

In court filings, VanPelt is identified as a "former Liberian government official." According to Liberian paper FrontPage Africa, she faced multiple serious criminal accusations as Ellen Corkrum in Liberia over the last decade; however, the charges were withdrawn in December 2019.

A man in Georgia recently tries to defraud COVID-19 relief funds

Recently, the Department of Justice has announced that a Georgia man who attempted to fraudulently claim over $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief from two government programs will serve two and a half years in jail. Christopher Hayes, 35, pled guilty in May to cheating a USDA program and attempting to steal from another run by the Internal Revenue Service.

According to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, this is the country's first completed fraud prosecution involving these two sources of aid. Erskine said the Stonecrest man filed a claim with the USDA's food assistance program, claiming that he lost livestock at his commercial farming operation despite not owning a farm or losing livestock.

He also attempted to receive a reimbursement from the IRS by submitting a false form intended to repay companies for the cost of providing virus-related leave compensation to employees. Hayes will be required to make restitution for $249,000. Three years of supervised release will follow his prison sentence, Fox5 Atlanta reported.