Evergreen Reporter

A Houston woman has been sentenced to federal prison for her involvement in a scheme to file fraudulent disaster relief loan applications, as announced by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Khalia Douglas, 27, received a sentence of 24 months, followed by three years of supervised release. She is also required to pay $318,361.11 in restitution.

Douglas pleaded guilty on June 13, 2024. During the sentencing hearing presided over by U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett, evidence was presented detailing her criminal history and the extent of her fraudulent activities over a period of 15 months. The court heard that Douglas submitted approximately 100 fraudulent applications on behalf of others, exploiting programs meant to aid those affected during challenging times.

From March 2020 until June 2021, Douglas conspired with others to submit false applications for financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Small Business Administration (SBA), the U.S. government, and a bank.

At her plea hearing, Douglas admitted using her Instagram account "GoGettaKaee" to promote her services in filing fraudulent SBA COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications. She posted messages such as “SBA is back open. $350 for method... You’ll need a real bank account.”

Douglas accepted payments via CashApp and instructed clients to send screenshots as proof of payment. She also filed false EIDL applications for herself and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications for another individual.

Further investigation revealed that Douglas filed eight FEMA disaster assistance applications related to Hurricane Laura and engaged in other fraudulent activities like filing false unemployment benefits claims in Kansas and using others' identities for personal gain.

Authorities found numerous documents on her phone and computer related to fraud, including counterfeit government identification documents and discussions about fraudulent activities.

Her actions resulted in losses totaling $318,361.11 with an attempted loss amounting to $514,415 across various programs including EIDL and PPP loans.

Douglas received around $23,775 for her services through these illicit activities. She will remain free on bond until she surrenders voluntarily to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility yet to be determined.

The Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General led the investigation into this case with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rodolfo Ramirez and Elizabeth Wyman handling the prosecution.