South Florida continues to be a national leader in prosecuting COVID-19 relief fraud, charging 17 individuals over the summer for schemes involving over $21 million.
These cases are part of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, which has charged more than 185 people since the pandemic began, with fraudulent schemes totaling around $220 million.
Leading one of the nation’s three COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams, the Southern District of Florida remains a key player in combating pandemic-related fraud. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe reiterated their commitment to holding wrongdoers accountable, stating, “We will not allow limited federal tax dollars, which were intended to help small businesses during the pandemic, to be stolen to support criminal actors.”
Cases against federal employees
Among those charged is Malaina Chapman, 37, of Hialeah, a former Small Business Administration (SBA) employee. Chapman was indicted in July 2024 for her involvement in defrauding both the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as several state and local rent assistance programs. Authorities allege that Chapman took advantage of her position at the SBA to manipulate relief applications and funnel funds for personal gain.
Cases against COVID-19 loan preparers
Several individuals involved in preparing fraudulent loan applications have also been charged.
One such defendant is Pete Andrew Cohen, 56, of Miramar, who ran a tax preparation business. Cohen was charged for his role in submitting approximately $3 million worth of fraudulent PPP loan applications from June 2020 to June 2021. Prosecutors allege that Cohen inflated payroll data and employee numbers for loan applicants, arranging for fake payroll documents to be submitted through a payroll service. Cohen has pled guilty and is set to be sentenced on October 17.
Similarly, Marc Prince, 41, also of Miramar, allegedly prepared around $3 million in fraudulent PPP loan applications between June 2020 and April 2021. Prince reportedly charged business owners a fee of up to 20 percent of the loan’s value in exchange for filing false claims, inflating both employee numbers and payroll figures. Prince has also pled guilty and will be sentenced on October 17.
These cases, investigated by agencies including the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), are part of a wider effort to root out fraud and return stolen funds to taxpayers.
