GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Benton Harbor woman who pleaded guilty to stealing $1 million in COVID relief has been sentenced.
Roshell Beaty, 46, and her family stole more than $740,000 in unemployment benefits from multiple states intended for people who couldn’t work during the pandemic, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of Michigan (DOJ).
We’re also told they stole more than $280,000 of business loans meant for companies impacted by lost business.
Beaty reportedly submitted insurance claims using other people’s identities.
The DOJ says Beaty admitted to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
“Federal pandemic dollars were meant to protect people who had fallen on hard times,” says U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Beaty and her co-defendants deliberately devised a multi-state plan to commit fraud and steal over a million dollars. My office will continue to aggressively hold accountable scam artists and cheats who steal hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”
Beaty was sentenced to 124 months — a little more than 10 years — behind bars, federal attorneys say. The family members involved in the scheme have since been convicted.
