A Broward County lady is accused of fraudulently making use of for COVID-19 loans for her medical spa enterprise and utilizing the cash to lease a Bentley Bentayga and buy groceries on the luxurious Bal Harbour Retailers in Miami Seashore, federal prosecutors stated Thursday.
Cassandra Yolanda Clarke, 45, of Miramar, made her preliminary look in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday. She faces fees of wire fraud and cash laundering, federal court docket information present.
Prosecutors allege within the indictment that Clarke submitted “false and fraudulent purposes” for 2 Paycheck Safety Program loans on behalf of her medical spa companies, Narotique Med Spa LLC and Narotique Magnificence Bar Inc., in 2020. She allegedly submitted fraudulent IRS kinds for the purposes.
Clarke obtained two PPP loans, one for greater than $400,000 for one enterprise and one other mortgage for greater than $430,000 for the second, in response to the indictment.
In April 2020, Clarke despatched an e-mail to somebody referred to within the indictment solely as “Confederate 1” with an inventory of worker names and wages for her enterprise Narotique Magnificence Bar. In June, the confederate emailed again with an IRS kind for the Narotique Med Spa LLC enterprise connected, and a PPP mortgage software was submitted on behalf of Narotique Med Spa in July, the indictment stated.
In August, Clarke bought a cashier’s verify for about $18,000 with a memo that stated “two and a half months wage,” the indictment alleged. She made two withdrawals in June and July 2020 from financial institution accounts, for $64,000 and $42,000.
She faces three counts of wire fraud and three counts of cash laundering. Prosecutors stated within the information launch she faces as much as 10 years in jail for the cash laundering fees and 20 years for wire fraud. Her arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 20.
The Related Press reported in 2023 that it was estimated that individuals stole greater than $200 billion from the federal authorities’s two largest Covid-19 monetary reduction applications, together with the Paycheck Safety Program. Consultants and investigators instructed the AP that there was little authorities oversight and restrictions early on for candidates as the federal government wanted to rapidly disperse the the trillions of {dollars} in loans.
