Evergreen Reporter

Spokane, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Marisa Beck, age 41, of Spokane, was sentenced for fraudulently obtaining more than $360,000 in COVID-19 relief funding intended for endangered small businesses and employees at risk of losing their jobs. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian imposed a sentence of 12 months imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, as well as restitution of $402,020.32, representing the total loss to the public as a result of the fraud.

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provided a number of programs through which eligible small businesses could request and obtain relief funding intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic for small and local businesses. One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provided forgivable loans to eligible small businesses to retain jobs and maintain payroll during the pandemic. Another program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, provided low-interest bridge funding for small businesses placed at risk during the pandemic.

According to court documents and information presented at trial and the sentencing hearing, Ms. Beck admitted to fraudulently obtaining $368,829 in PPP and EIDL funding for three purported businesses: Cyra Solar LLC, Beck N’ Call Landscape LLC, and Value in People Consulting LLC. Ms. Beck admitted that these entities were not eligible for CARES Act funding because Beck N’ Call Landscape and Cyra Solar were not active businesses as of February 2020 and because she submitted false and fraudulent payroll, revenue, and other information associated with the three purported businesses in order to fraudulently obtain CARES Act funding.

“Many small businesses struggled during the COVID-19 shutdowns and were eligible for pandemic relief funds to keep their doors open and to ensure that their employees could keep their jobs. Fraudulent schemes diverted critical money set aside to help those businesses and instead were used to enrich individuals such as Ms. Beck,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. “I’m grateful for the investigators and prosecutors of our COVID Fraud Strike Force. Their teamwork and focus on uncovering fraud strengthens our community and protects small and local businesses.”

“Today’s sentencing underscores the VA Office of Inspector General’s commitment to rooting out fraudsters and safeguarding taxpayer funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Dimitriana Nikolov with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northwest Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners as part of the COVID-19 Strike Force to investigate fraud against relief programs intended to support bona fide recipients.”

“Profiteering off federal government relief programs intended to support American small businesses is inexcusable,” said SBA OIG’s Western Region Special Agent in Charge Weston King. “This sentencing is further evidence that greed has no place in SBA programs. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”

The case was investigated by the Eastern Washington COVID Fraud Strike Force, particularly by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General's Spokane Resident Office with investigative assistance from various agencies including: Federal Bureau of Investigation's Spokane Resident Agency; Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General's Western Regional Office; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigative Division's Seattle Field Office; Assistant United States Attorney Dan Fruchter prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.