BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal grand jury has indicted a Denham Springs woman on charges linked to a fraudulent scheme exploiting COVID-19 relief funds, involving multiple states and totaling over $65,000 in illicitly acquired aid.
Myaika Gross, a full-time employee of the United States Postal Service during the time of the alleged frauds, is charged with wire fraud, alongside a notice of forfeit filed against her. The indictment details wrongdoings that reportedly began in May 2020 and continued through April 2022.
Authorities claim that Gross orchestrated a complex plot targeting several state workforce agencies and financial institutions by submitting falsified applications for pandemic-related financial aid. These submissions included counterfeit Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) applications to multiple states, leveraging constructed documents and deceptive statements.
Particularly damaging were the fraudulent UI claims filed in the states of Indiana, Colorado, and Louisiana, which paid out $4,937, $6,851, and $33,808 respectively. Gross is accused of maintaining these fraudulent streams of income through continual false declarations designed to prolong the receipt of benefits.
Further compounding her legal woes, Gross also misled a Phoenix-based financial institution, Financial Lender 1, which approved her more than $20,832 in PPP loans based on phony documents including a fraudulent 2019 tax form, purportedly from a credit repair business showing inflated earnings.
The proceeds from these deceitful activities were reportedly spent on discretionary expenses such as fast food, shopping, and travel, highlighting a lavish lifestyle funded by taxpayer dollars intended to assist those genuinely affected by the pandemic downturn.
The case exemplifies broader challenges facing law enforcement agencies as they confront intricate fraud schemes that have exploited the emergency financial measures enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs, while vital for economic stabilization, have also presented opportunities for fraudsters to extract funds through vulnerabilities in the expedited aid distribution processes.
If convicted, Gross faces significant legal penalties including the forfeiture of any assets purchased with the stolen funds. Authorities are equally entitled to seize equivalent assets if those directly purchased with the ill-gotten gains cannot be forfeited. The unfolding legal battle underscores the federal government’s stern response to pandemic relief fraud and its repercussions for those implicated in such schemes.
This case, with its cross-state implications and multi-agency involvement, serves as a critical reminder of the vigilance needed in the management and oversight of federal aid programs, particularly during times of national emergency when funds are rapidly deployed to assist struggling businesses and unemployed workers.