Ashburn Woman Convicted of $2.5 Million Pandemic Fraud

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Ashburn woman today on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, and money laundering.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Rose-Marie Nsahlai, 47, and her husband fraudulently obtained two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The PPP was a program instituted by the U.S. Congress to help businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic continue to pay salaries or wages to their employees. Nsahlai carried out the scheme in connection with two of her husband’s businesses by creating fraudulent payroll documentation for each business, and then submitting that documentation in support of the PPP loan applications. The fraudulent documentation represented that her husband’s businesses had dozens of employees with over $17 million of annual payroll in 2019, when in fact they had few, if any, employees.

In total, Nsahlai and her husband fraudulently obtained approximately $2,501,753 in loan proceeds, and they then spent those funds on items unrelated to any legitimate PPP-related expense. Those items included the down-payment on a 7,000-square-foot home in Leesburg. Nsahlai’s husband pleaded guilty to this scheme in 2021.

Nsahlai faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on July 19. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kareem Carter, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Michael Serra, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge for the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan M. Harvey and David A. Peters are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-234.