GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A former Georgia police officer has been sentenced to 59 months in prison for attempting to launder $500,000 in fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds. The former officer is Andre Jackson.
According to the Department of Justice, Jackson introduced fellow Georgia resident James Williams to Jemar Mason and David Kurbanov in 2020. Both Mason and Kurbanov were residents of the Western District of Michigan. Williams helped Mason and Kurbanov prepare fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans that were authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The CARES Act was a federal law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to those who suffered the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide small businesses with loans to keep employees on payroll.
Jackson and his co-conspirators exploited the program to obtain approximately $1.495 million in fraud proceeds. He then attempted to launder some of the proceeds by directing two of his confederates to wire $500,000 to an oversee bank account.
The plot was detected by investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Internal Revenue Service then took steps to freeze the bank accounts of the conspirators. $1.123 million in fraud proceeds was recovered.
Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Michigan brought charges against five codefendants, including Jackson. All five have now been convicted in connection with the scheme.
Along with the 59 months in prison, Jackson will also have three years of supervised release.
“Pandemic relief funds in the form of PPP loans were established to help legitimate businesses weather the economic crisis created by COVID-19,” said Charles Miller, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office. “In concert with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners, IRS-CI will continue to track down individuals who attempt to exploit this federal relief program for their own personal greed and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
“Jackson and his co-defendants stole money from the Paycheck Protection Program, which was a critical lifeline for Michigan’s small businesses during the pandemic,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “It was a serious crime, and the FBI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify fraudsters like this defendant and hold them fully accountable for their crimes.”
