From Newsgroup: talk.politics.misc

Six St. Louis-area residents have been accused of bilking taxpayers out of $8.3 million meant to help struggling businesses during COVID-19.

The indictment accuses the conspirators of submitting at least 40
fraudulent applications between March 2020 and December 2024 for Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans that yielded
at least $8.3 million.

The loans were U.S. Small Business Administration programs intended to
support small businesses and their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Raymond Porter Jr., 64, of St. Louis, was indicted Wednesday on 28
felonies: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and four counts of money laundering.

David Holmon, 54, of Olivette, was indicted on conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft
and two counts of money laundering.

Monica Butler, 59, of St. Louis, was indicted on conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud and seven counts of money laundering.

Dana Kelly, 47, and Alexander Sampson, 39, both of St. Louis, were
indicted on one count of conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud and one
count of money laundering.

Latrice Davis, 40, of St. Charles County, now faces one count of
conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Three were arrested on Friday.

Porter and Holmon, with Davis’s help, prepared and submitted fraudulent
PPP and EIDL applications for their own businesses and for other people’s businesses, including businesses owned by Butler, Kelly and Sampson, the indictment says. In return, Porter and Holmon typically would receive 10 percent to 20 percent of any approved loans, the indictment says,
disguised as payments for equipment or consulting services. They would
then pay Davis a portion of those fees, it says.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/scott-mcclallen/2026/04/19/stolen- identities-inflated-payrolls-and-fake-websites-st-louis-fraud-ring- indicted-for-83m-heist-n2674706

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