Andrea and Alicia Ayers will spend multiple years in prison for stealing almost $1.7 million from the Small Business Administration.
A mother and daughter duo in New York have been sentenced to prison for unjustly receiving $1.7 million in a COVID-19 relief fraud. The mother, Andrea Ayers, was a civilian employee of the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Lohud. reports that U.S. District Judge Nelson Roman sentenced Ayers to spend three and a half years in prison, while giving her daughter, Alicia, a sentence of two years. The younger Ayers, who worked as a financial advisor and accountant, will serve 6 months on house arrest following the prison stint.
The judge rejected the Ayers’ requested bids for leniency, leaving them to face time in prison for their million-dollar fraud. Their defense argued for home confinement for the first offense due to the family responsibility and remorse for their actions.
Their final sentences included less time than what prosecutors sought. The lawyers initially requested between 5 and 6 years of incarceration for the fraudulent duo. Despite the shorter prison time, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams hopes their punishment serves as a warning for those trying to commit this type fraud.
“These defendants stole from a taxpayer-funded program intended to help small businesses that were in desperate need of assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic,” shared Williams in a statement. “As their convictions and sentences reflect, my Office is determined to continue to work to bring to justice those who exploit and defraud government programs during a national emergency.”
The judge also ordered the women to forfeit $1.69 million. They must report to prison by Aug. 2.
Source: Black Enterprise
