Georgia Attorney Convicted In $7Million COVID-19 Relief Scam

Former Atlanta Cop Turned Georgia Attorney Convicted In $7 Million COVID-19 Relief Scam

A federal jury a former Atlanta cop turned Georgia attorney of scamming over $7 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Court records show Shelitha Robertson conspired to submit bogus PPP loan applications. She submitted the fake applications on behalf of four businesses she owned. The loan applications falsely inflated the number of employees. They also falsely stated the average monthly payroll for each of the businesses. As a result, this induced larger PPP loans than Robertson could not legitimately obtain.

In addition, Robertson and a co-conspirator also submitted false tax documents in each of the loan applications. Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items. She used the funds to buy a 10-carat diamond ring and to transfer funds to family members and her co-conspirator.

The jury convicted Robertson of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They also convicted her of three counts of wire fraud. In addition, the jury convicted her of one count of money laundering.

The court has scheduled a sentencing hearing on April 11, 2024. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. She is looking at a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Robertson is also the second defendant to be convicted as part of the Justice Department’s prosecution of an approximately $15 million PPP fraud conspiracy. Robertson’s co-conspirator pleaded guilty prior to trial.

The Fraud Section Of The DOJ Help Nail The Former Atlanta Cop Turned Georgia Attorney Shelitha Robertson

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of PPP fraud. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases since the creation of the CARES Act. The DOJ has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds from fraudulently obtained PPP funds. In addition, the government has seized numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with illegal proceeds.

In May 2021, the US Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force’s mission is to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. For information about PPP fraud, visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.