OKLAHOMA CITY – An Edmond woman pleaded guilty recently to bank fraud and money laundering, using a federal business loan to build a house and to buy a luxury vehicle for her personal use, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced.
Jill Nicole Ford, 31, will be required to pay a quarter of a million dollars in restitution and could receive a stiff sentence in federal prison, Troester said.
The Main Street Lending Program was established by the Federal Reserve Board and was supported with funding authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
The CARES Act provided more than $2 trillion in relief for individuals and businesses adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The Main Street Lending Program was created to promote lending to small- and medium-sized businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Perry charged Ford by information on January 7 with fraudulently obtaining a $405,686 Main Street Lending Program Loan for her business, Oliver & Olivia Apparel, Inc.
Public documents filed in the case reflect that Ford obtained the loan from Citizens Bank of Edmond on September 11, 2020, and executed a loan agreement falsely representing she would use Main Street Lending Program funds for working capital and payroll only. She also falsely represented she would not make financial distributions to herself as the owner of Oliver & Olivia Apparel, Inc.
The information further alleged that between September 29 and November 5, 2020, Ford laundered the loan proceeds by shifting the money to a personal account and a business account at another bank. She then used some of the funds to pay for construction of her home and to buy a luxury SUV for her personal use.
Ford pleaded guilty to both charges before U.S. District Judge Jodi D. Dishman. As part of her plea, Ford admitted she made false representations in obtaining the Main Street loan and laundering the proceeds by engaging in a financial transaction with those proceeds.
At sentencing in approximately 90 days, Ford faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the bank fraud offense. She faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the money laundering charge. She may be sentenced to a term of up to five years of supervised release after any term of incarceration. Ford also agreed to make $252,143 in restitution and must pay a $200 special assessment.
The case resulted from an investigation by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, the Oklahoma City FBI Field Office, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General, and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General.
The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force last year to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.