AUGUSA, GA: A Richmond County woman has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution for defrauding a COVID-19 small business relief program.
Kameka Bausley, 43, of Augusta, was sentenced to 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to Wire Fraud, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered Bausley to pay $71,933 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of her prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Congress provided more than $600 billion in funding to help small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “Unfortunately, that level of funding also attracted scam artists. With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold accountable those who illegally profit from safety net programs.”
As described in court documents and at sentencing, Bausley, was a U.S. Postal Service employee and collecting workers’ compensation benefits when she defrauded the Small Business Administration by using fabricated revenue and expense information about her catering business to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program funding, ultimately receiving deposits totaling $71,933 through the two Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Programs.
“This sentencing underlines our dedication to holding people accountable who exploit federal relief programs for personal gain,” said Jonathan Ulrich, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG). “As proven in this case, our criminal investigators and the legal teams at the U.S. Attorney’s Office will diligently pursue anyone who attempts to commit COVID-19 fraud and exploit programs created to help legitimate people and businesses affected by the global pandemic.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III.
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 at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422
