Four individuals will be spending years behind bars for fraudulently obtaining tens of millions of dollars by posing as business owners asking for COVID-19 aid, a now-common finding nationwide.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Arizona District announced Thursday that Willie Mitchell, aka Blu Mitchell, 41, of Phoenix, Sean Swaringer, 57, of Peoria, Kimberly Coleman, 39, of Mesa, and Jason Coleman, 41, of Mesa, were sentenced for their parts in a network of fraudulent applications.
The four applied to the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, meant to supplement small businesses and independent contractors amid months of government-ordered shutdowns due to the spread of COVID-19.
“Kimberly Coleman and her husband, Jason Coleman, collectively prepared and submitted approximately two dozen fraudulent PPP loan applications in an attempt to receive more than $30 million in PPP funds,” the release said. “They were successful in at least 10 of those submissions and fraudulently obtained more than $13 million in PPP funds.”
The D.A.’s office said the Colemans spent the funds on luxury vehicles and real estate properties, personal property from several high-end retail outlets, vacation, and jewelry.
Mitchell obtained $9,470,900 in loans after recruiting others to help him, the release said. He spent the taxpayer dollars on a vehicle, multiple properties, and vacations with the PPP funds.
