Georgia woman uses fake salon to get COVID loan — and buys a Dodge Charger, feds say
.jpg "Despite the bumpy rollout, the CARES Act PPP program provided forgivable loans to about 4.5 million businesses.")
A Georgia woman accused of creating a fake business to scam the federal government out of more than $66,000 in COVID-19 relief funds could spend the next 30 years in prison, prosecutors say.
Tracy Kirkland, 40, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a criminal charge of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
Federal prosecutors say the Swainsboro woman claimed to own Kirklands Hair N Beauty salon, where she employed three workers. She applied for a loan through a federal program aimed at helping businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The loan was approved in August and $66,400 was deposited into her bank account, officials say.
But the salon was fake, according to prosecutors, and Kirkland spent part of the money on a 2019 Dodge Charger.
She also made “large cash withdrawals” and bought items not related to a salon business, officials say.
Kirkland, who prosecutors say is a convicted felon, was accused of devising the scheme to “unjustly enrich herself and others” to get the loan “under false and misleading pretenses,” according to a federal indictment.
The government approved $2.2 trillion last year to help businesses as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Security (CARES) Act, Acting U.S. Attorney David Estes said in a statement.
“Tracy Kirkland stole from those funds,” he said, “and she’s being held accountable for that theft.”
The fraud charge carries a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, according to prosecutors. As part of a plea deal, Kirkland will have to forfeit the car and repay $66,400. She was also ordered to return $16,250.
An attorney for Kirkland reached by McClatchy News on Tuesday afternoon said a sentencing hearing hasn’t been set.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Georgia woman uses fake salon to get COVID loan — and buys a Dodge Charger, feds say."