JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville attorney is paying the price for her transgressions in gratuitously taking advantage of a federal COVID-19 small business relief program.
Shaquandra Woods, 41, was sentenced last week to 75 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia. She faced up to 20 years after a federal jury convicted her in December.
U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered her to pay $42,848 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following her prison term, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
“Shaquandra Woods prolifically filed fraudulent applications for COVID-19 pandemic relief funds for herself and for others,” U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg said. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to prosecute those who engage in such self-enriching behavior at taxpayers’ expense.”
The CARES Act authorized the Small Business Administration to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial interruptions due to the pandemic.
Woods, an attorney licensed in Florida and Georgia, completed at least nine applications for CARES Act funding for herself and others, fabricating and submitting false documents to support the applications, federal prosecutors said. She was successful in obtaining more than $300,000 for herself.
“Woods will now pay the price for stealing pandemic relief funds that others needed to keep a business open or to keep a roof over their heads,” said Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Will Clarke of FBI Atlanta’s Savannah Resident Agency. “Federal programs such as these are set up to help those in need, not to benefit criminals. Prosecution of those who illegally obtain government benefits will continue to be a priority for our office.”
Amaleka McCall-Braithwaite, special agent in charge of the Eastern Region of the SBA Office of Inspector General, said the sentence sends a clear message to people who defraud these programs.
“Our office will remain steadfast in pursuing those who exploit such vital resources for personal gain, ensuring accountability and justice for the American taxpayer," McCall-Braithwaite said.
Anyone with information about additional fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or at justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
This story was first published by The Florida Times-Union.
