Three individuals were sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 7, for fraudulently obtaining and misusing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), loans issued to select organizations during to the coronavirus pandemic; under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in connection with their involvement in a COVID-19 fraud ring.
U.S. Lawyer’s Office said reports and proof introduced at preliminary found the three out-of-state lawbreakers deceitfully obtained (PPP) credits for counterfeit organizations in 2020 and 2021.
Khadijah Chapman, Daniel Labrum and Eric O’Neil were convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to a collective 97 months in prison.
Chapman was convicted after a jury trial in November 2023, while Labrum and O’Neil pleaded guilty.
Khadijah X. Chapman, of Atlanta, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison; Daniel C. Labrum, of South Jordan, Utah, was sentenced to two years in prison; and Eric J. O’Neil, of Bethel, Connecticut, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison
The three ultimately obtained approximately $3.5 million in funds intended for small businesses that were financially struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit said that the defendants’ crimes were part of a larger COVID-19 fraud ring, working with other criminals to falsify information and submit fake documents to financial institutions in Boise.
The PPP loans were issued by a Boise financial institution and guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.
For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit the Justice Department’s COVID-19 page.
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