Laplace Woman Guilty Of Cares Act Fraud

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced that TANYANEEKA POWELL (“POWELL”), age 38, of Laplace, LA, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey to a two-count bill of information that charged her with making, and assisting in the making, of false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). 

According to court records, Count One charged POWELL with making false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on or about April 17, 2021, in order to fraudulently obtain a $19,997.00 federally funded pandemic-related relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for herself. Count Two alleged that, on or about June 2, 2022, POWELL aided and abetted in the making of false statements to the SBA by helping prepare a false PPP loan application for another person, that resulted in a loan of $19,999.00.

Sentencing in this matter will occur on April 28, 2026. For each individual charged count, POWELL faces up to five years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. 

For more information on the Department of Justice’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. 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.

U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (a member of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee) and the United States Secret Service in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera is in charge of the prosecution.

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