Charlotte EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers

Charlotte EIDL Loan Fraud Lawyers

The SBA Office of Inspector General sent you a letter about your EIDL loan. Or federal agents contacted you in Charlotte asking about your Economic Injury Disaster Loan application. You’re in North Carolina. A Charlotte woman was just sentenced in March 2025 to 30 months in prison for obtaining over $1.5 million in fraudulent EIDL and PPP loans. She also obtained over $300,000 in fees from customers who paid her to prepare fraudulent applications on their behalf. She was ordered to pay $1,549,737 in restitution. A Charlotte mother and her two daughters were indicted in May 2025 for submitting at least 15 fraudulent EIDL and PPP applications – they spent $15,000 of the fraud proceeds on a personal birthday party. The Western District of North Carolina has prosecuted 35 defendants for COVID fraud and obtained almost $18 million in judgments.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We’ve defended federal EIDL fraud cases in North Carolina for over 40 years. We know how Western District prosecutors charge pandemic loan fraud and what outcomes you’re facing.

The federal government approved EIDL loans in 2020 with minimal verification. Now in 2025, they’re prosecuting Charlotte-area business owners and loan preparers. A Gastonia woman pled guilty in March 2024 to wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining $125,317 in EIDL and PPP loans – she used the funds for personal bills, foreign currency investment, and plastic surgery including liposuction. Here’s what happens in YOUR situation.

Loan Preparer Sentenced for $1.5 Million EIDL Fraud Scheme

Jeannetta Blackmon, also known as Jeannetta Regan, 50, of Charlotte, was sentenced in March 2025 to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for obtaining more than $1.5 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Relief Disaster loans. Blackmon also obtained over $300,000 in fees from customers who paid her to prepare and submit on their behalf fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications that contained false and fictitious information on employment data, business income, expenses, and tax information. She was ordered to pay $1,549,737 in restitution. Wire fraud carries statutory maximums of 20 years under 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Blackmon received 30 months because she pled guilty and cooperated – but she committed dual fraud: defrauding the SBA AND defrauding the clients who trusted her to prepare legitimate applications. The $300,000 in fees she collected created a paper trail of payments from clients whose applications were fraudulent.

Evan Agustin Perez, 35, of Charlotte, was sentenced in February 2024 to 24 months in prison for obtaining approximately $720,000 in fraudulent PPP and EIDL loans. Zadih Cadyma, 66, of Charlotte, was sentenced in March 2024 to 30 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining $780,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans. Both cases demonstrate Western District judges impose prison sentences of 24-30 months for fraud amounts between $700,000 and $1.5 million when defendants plead guilty.

Family Charged for $124,000 Fraud – Birthday Party Spending

In May 2025, a federal grand jury in Charlotte indicted Tiawana Brown, 53, and her daughters, Tijema Brown, 30, and Antionette Rouse, 33, all of Charlotte, with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications filed to falsely obtain COVID pandemic relief funds. The defendants allegedly submitted at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds and falsely obtained at least $124,165 in connection with their scheme to defraud. The defendants allegedly used the proceeds on personal expenses, including allegedly approximately $15,000 on a personal birthday party for Tiawana Brown. Family conspiracies are common in COVID fraud cases – when one family member submits fraudulent applications, federal agents investigate all related family members and identify coordinated schemes, multiple applications from the same household, funds flowing to shared bank accounts create conspiracy charges, conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries the same 20-year statutory maximum as wire fraud itself, the Brown family’s use of fraud proceeds for a $15,000 birthday party demonstrates the kind of luxury personal spending that triggers Bank Secrecy Act reports and Suspicious Activity Reports.

Roger Trent Melchor, 56, of Indian Trail, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining $32,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans. Between July 2020 to May 2021, Melchor used false information to apply for loans and receive funds from the EIDL Program and PPP. Melchor was on federal supervised release when he engaged in the PPP and EIDL fraud scheme – committing new federal crimes while on supervised release for a prior federal conviction results in significantly longer sentences and demonstrates to judges that the defendant is a repeat offender who violated the court’s trust.

How EIDL Fraud Gets Detected

EIDL fraud detection is automated. Every EIDL application was cross-referenced against IRS records – business tax returns, personal tax returns for sole proprietorships, quarterly payroll filings. Blackmon submitted applications containing false and fictitious information on employment data, business income, expenses, and tax information – those discrepancies were flagged immediately when cross-referenced against actual IRS filings. The SBA Office of Inspector General reviews flagged applications and refers suspected fraud to federal law enforcement. In Charlotte, FBI handles EIDL investigations, often working with IRS Criminal Investigation.

Bank Secrecy Act reports trigger investigations. Kelly Bree Mosley, the Gastonia woman who pled guilty in March 2024, used EIDL and PPP funds for personal bills, foreign currency investment, and plastic surgery including liposuction. Plastic surgery payments from business accounts designated for pandemic relief trigger automatic Suspicious Activity Reports. The Brown family’s $15,000 birthday party expenditure created similar reports. When loan preparer schemes operate – like Blackmon’s $300,000 in fees from clients – federal agents identify patterns across multiple applications: similar false information, same preparer, coordinated submission timing. The $300,000 in fees Blackmon collected created a paper trail of payments from dozens of clients whose applications all contained similar fraudulent elements.

What Sentences You’re Actually Facing

EIDL fraud sentencing follows the federal guidelines based on loss amount. Under $100,000 with cooperation: 6-18 months. $100,000-$500,000: 2-4 years. $500,000-$1 million: 4-7 years. Over $1 million: 5-10 years with plea, 10-20+ years if convicted at trial. Actual Western District sentences: Perez ($720,000 fraud) received 24 months. Cadyma ($780,000 fraud) received 30 months. Blackmon ($1.5 million fraud) received 30 months. Restitution is mandatory – you must repay the full EIDL amount plus interest and penalties. This federal debt survives bankruptcy. Blackmon owes $1,549,737. Probation terms after prison: 2-3 years supervised release, cannot start/manage a business without permission, continuous financial monitoring. Melchor was on supervised release when he committed EIDL fraud – that violation will add years to his sentence. The critical decision: plea deal versus trial. Federal EIDL fraud cases have 97%+ conviction rates at trial. Documentary evidence – your application, your IRS records, your bank statements, client fee records if you’re a loan preparer – makes conviction nearly certain. The “trial penalty” means if you’re convicted at trial, you face statutory maximums instead of reduced plea sentences. Blackmon pled guilty and received 30 months for $1.5 million fraud. If she had gone to trial and been convicted, she would have faced 7-15 years in prison.

Timeline: From initial SBA contact to indictment typically runs 6-18 months. Western District of North Carolina has prosecuted 35 defendants for COVID fraud and obtained almost $18 million in judgments. By the time you’re indicted, they have everything – bank records, IRS filings, client payment records, luxury spending receipts. The mistake Charlotte business owners make: responding to initial SBA audits without legal counsel. They think explaining will resolve it. Instead, statements like “I helped clients with applications” become admissions of conspiracy. “I may have overstated income” becomes admission of fraud. By the time they hire an attorney, they’ve confessed.

At Spodek Law Group – Todd Spodek has defended federal fraud cases in North Carolina for many, many, years. If the SBA contacted you about your EIDL loan – if federal agents asked to interview you – time matters. Western District prosecutes aggressively – 35 defendants, $18 million in judgments. Call 212-300-5196.