Three former residents of the St. Louis area, Brianna L. Bell-Maple, Jemyla A. Bell, and Leiah A. Vaughn, have been accused of fraudulently obtaining $229,000 in pandemic loans in 2021. The trio turned themselves in to authorities in Fresno, California, where they currently reside.
According to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, the three individuals face two felony counts of wire fraud. They allegedly submitted 11 fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, falsely claiming the funds were for women’s clothing businesses that did not exist in St. Louis and on Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. False tax documents were also submitted to support the loan applications, resulting in a total of $229,163 in PPP loans.
The indictment further states that the accused individuals used the fraudulently obtained funds for personal expenses such as rent, shopping, dining, bills, travel, loan payments, pet store purchases, and vehicles.
It is important to note that charges in an indictment are accusations and do not indicate guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. Each wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The FBI conducted the investigation into this case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow handling the prosecution.
