Shaquaila Lewis, also known as Shaquaila Lewis-Chatman, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for committing wire fraud related to the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr., and includes three years of supervised release following her imprisonment. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
The CARES Act, enacted by Congress in March 2020, aimed to provide financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Lewis was found guilty of defrauding the SBA and various financial institutions by submitting false PPP and EIDL loan applications. Her fraudulent activities resulted in over $1.1 million in losses.
In one instance, Lewis submitted a fraudulent PPP application in February 2021 under Perfect Memories Travel's name to Square Capital, seeking approximately $20,833. She falsely claimed that these funds would be used for payroll retention and had misused previous loan amounts for personal expenses.
The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg and Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard from the Department of Justice Criminal Division – Fraud Section prosecuted the case.