Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS – One current and one former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs have been indicted and accused of fraudulently obtaining pandemic loans.

Kahroun Armstrong, also known as Kahroun Leflore, 48, of Black Jack, Missouri, was indicted on September 4 on two counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of making a false statement. Dortatius L. Hill, 41, of St. Louis, was indicted separately on the same day on the same charges.

Armstrong and Hill appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Armstrong is no longer employed by the VA.

Hill's indictment accuses him of applying for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for a company called “Dortatius Hill,” once on April 2, 2021, and again on April 9, 2021. Hill falsely claimed the company had gross income of $120,000. He received one $20,833 loan on April 16, 2021, and another on May 5, 2021. Hill later fraudulently sought loan forgiveness.

The PPP loans were intended to save jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The indictment accuses Armstrong of fraudulently seeking a PPP loan on behalf of Arm & Arm In Home Health Care Services LLC on March 29, 2021, and another on behalf of Arm & Arm Motors LLC the same day. Armstrong falsely claimed the health care company was founded in 2018 and had $145,655 in gross income while Arm & Arm Motors had gross income of $155,000. He falsely claimed that both loans would be used for payroll costs, rent, utilities and other expenses. He received a loan for each business amounting to $20,832 each and later successfully sought forgiveness for these loans.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison or a $1 million fine or both. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Making a false statement is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy is prosecuting it.