Missouri – A woman from Kansas City has been sentenced to federal prison for confessing to a scam that took advantage of pandemic relief initiatives for her own gain. Robin Brooks, 55, learned her fate in a federal courtroom on Thursday, where U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays ordered her to serve 15 months behind bars and repay more than $62,000 to the government agencies affected by her actions.
According to the Department of Justice, Brooks’ plan came to light during the difficult months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the federal government started huge relief operations to support people and businesses that were having a hard time. One of these efforts was the CARES Act, a big statute that was passed in March 2020 to help the economy in an emergency. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a major part of the law. It gave small businesses loans that they didn’t have to pay back in order to keep their employees on the payroll during tough economic times.
Federal authorities said Brooks took advantage of the pandemic’s panic and rush by applying for two PPP loans at the same time. But the businesses Brooks said he owned didn’t really do anything and didn’t have any employees. Authorities found that these companies only existed on paper and were just set up to get money from the government.
The deceptions didn’t stop there. Investigators also found out that Brooks sent Jackson County, Missouri, fake invoices valued around $30,345. She said the money was for a non-profit she had started to help those who were having trouble making ends meet because of COVID-19. But the non-profit was just a cover for something else. Prosecutors said the money was based on fraudulent information and never served its purported charity purpose.
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In the end, Brooks got $32,466 in fake PPP loans from the Small Business Administration and $30,345 more from Jackson County CARES Act money. The paperwork she gave to both agencies was inaccurate.
The United States Secret Service looked into Brooks’ conduct, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Venneman took the case to court. Judge Kays also told Brooks to pay back the Small Business Administration and Jackson County in full during the sentencing.
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As communities continue to recover from the impact of COVID-19, law enforcement officials say their work to uncover and prosecute fraud remains a top priority.
