A London man, Joshua Pennington, 50, has admitted to conspiracy charges related to money laundering involving COVID-19 relief loans. The plea was entered on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hanley Ingram. His co-defendant, Nicole Pennington, 48, was indicted in December 2024 on multiple counts including wire fraud and money laundering.

Joshua Pennington's plea agreement reveals that false statements were made on Small Business Administration (SBA) loan applications by his co-defendant. Six of these applications were approved, resulting in $1,090,398.35 being fraudulently obtained. Between May 2020 and June 10, 2021, the pair laundered over $1 million through transactions exceeding $10,000 for personal expenses such as home renovations and luxury purchases.

The announcement of the sentencing came from Carlton S. Shier IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Kelly K. Moening from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; and Karen Wingerd from IRS-Criminal Investigations.

The investigation was led by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS-CI with Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany Dunn-Pirio prosecuting the case.

Joshua Pennington is due for sentencing on May 20, 2025. He could face up to ten years in prison along with potential restitution or fines as determined by the Court based on federal guidelines.

In response to pandemic-related frauds like this case, the Attorney General established a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to enhance efforts against such crimes by coordinating resources across various government agencies.

Reports of attempted COVID-19 fraud can be made via the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or its online complaint form.