From staff reports OKLAHOMA CITY – A Blanchard woman has been sentenced to serve 22 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $727,300 in restitution for making a false statement to get a small-business loan during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sheri Lynn Vickery, 40, worked as an office manager for Coil Chem, a chemical manufacturing company based in Washington, Oklahoma, from April 2020 through December 2021.
Vickery submitted an application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of Coil Chem on April 7, 2020. The PPP was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.
An indictment handed down in Oklahoma City’s Western District federal court alleged that Vickery inflated Coil Chem’s total payroll costs and misrepresented what the PPP loan proceeds would be used for, ultimately causing $727,300 to be transferred into Coil Chem’s operating bank account. Vickery then used the proceeds for impermissible purposes, including to pay off a family member’s personal debts.
Vickery pleaded guilty on Sept. 10, 2024, admit ting she knowingly submitted a PPP loan application that contained false representations.
U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman sentenced Vickery on June 16 to serve 22 months in federal prison and ordered her to pay $727,300 in restitution.