Georgia lawyer and former Atlanta police officer convicted in $15M COVID-19 relief fraud plot – FINCHANNEL

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Shelitha Robertson, 62, of Atlanta, conspired with Chandra Norton to submit fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of businesses each owned by Robertson and Norton. The fraudulent loan applications falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll of each of the applicant companies and included false tax documentation, inducing PPP loans that were larger than what Robertson or Norton could legitimately obtain. Robertson and Norton submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of four companies owned by Robertson, resulting in $7,020,779 in PPP funds deposited into bank accounts owned and controlled by Robertson. Robertson then used the loan proceeds for his personal benefit, including purchasing luxury items, such as a 10-carat diamond ring, and transferring funds to his family members and Norton.

A federal jury convicted Robertson in December 2023 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Norton pleaded guilty in November 2020 and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 14.

Nicole M. Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; United States Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia; Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG); Inspector General Jennifer L. Fain of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); and Acting Inspector General Heather M. Hill of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) made the announcement.

The SBA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and TIGTA investigated the matter.

Trial Attorney Ariel Glasner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita Malloy for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.