U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has sentenced Jennifer Watkins, 48, from Marlton, New Jersey, to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Watkins was involved in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain over $35 million in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans used for purchasing hotels. The court also ordered her to pay restitution amounting to $6,010,655.72.
The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak from the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey D. Pittano from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) – Mid-Atlantic Region.
According to guilty pleas from Watkins and her co-conspirators Mehul Ramesh Khatiwala, also known as "Mike Khatiwala," 43, of Voorhees, New Jersey; and Rajendra G. Parikh, 64, of Monroe, New Jersey; Khatiwala owned Delaware Hotel Group LLC (DHG) and operated GMK Consulting LLC (GMK) and KPG Hotel Mgmt. LLC (KPG). These companies were based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Watkins served as a project coordinator for DHG and managed Forza Consulting LLC (Forza), located in Marlton, New Jersey. Parikh owned KPG.
The scheme involved obtaining loan proceeds through hotel flipping—a strategy where properties are purchased and quickly sold for profit—by making false representations during SBA-loan applications about seller identities and borrower equity injections. Loans were sought through the SBA’s Section 7(a) Program.
Khatiwala and Parikh admitted their roles as managers or supervisors within the scheme and acknowledged creating shell companies with straw owners who had no actual ownership interest but signed documents related to hotel purchases.
The co-conspirators established another company to buy hotels at inflated prices from these shell companies and solicited banks for small-business loans under false pretenses regarding investors' equity injections.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended FHFA-OIG and FDIC-OIG's investigative work while thanking Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Gruber, Evelyn L. Cusson, Ari D. Evans for prosecuting the case along with Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N Huber’s legal support.
For further details on the Maryland U.S Attorney’s Office or reporting fraud visit justice.gov/usao-md or justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
