A federal grand jury has indicted eleven defendants from Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Washington for their roles in a conspiracy that resulted in more than $220,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The following were charged in a 13-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 6, 2024.
- Daisha Sanders, 32, formerly of Blue Springs, Mo., now of Royse, Texas
- Joel Wright, 34, boyfriend of Daisha Sanders, formerly of Blue Springs, Mo., now of Royse, Texas
- Denise Sanders, 60, mother of Daisha Sanders, of Royse, Texas
- Shaquille Fielder, 31, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Jordan Nichols, 30, of North Kansas City, Mo.
- Kiandra Crowe, 33, of Grandview, Mo.
- Alfred Hayes IV, 29, of Overland Park, Kansas
- Luana McNurlin, 36, of St. Louis, Mo.
- Rashonda Golden, 34, of Tacoma, Washington
- Roxanne Nazir, 38, of Arlington, Texas
- Jeffrey Chillis, 30, of Corpus Christi, Texas
The federal indictment alleges that each of the 11 defendants conspired to submit false and fraudulent applications for PPP loans from February 2021 to July 2022. The conspiracy allegedly caused more than $220,000 in fraudulent PPP loans to be issued to ineligible borrowers, most of which were forgiven even though the funds were not used for the purposes specified in the PPP.
According to the indictment, Daisha Sanders created PPP loan applications for herself and each co-conspirator in exchange for a payment from the loan proceeds. The applications falsely stated either the existence of a sole proprietorship before the pandemic or greatly inflated the revenues of any “businesses” that did exist in 2019. Daisha Sanders allegedly created fictitious bank records, IRS forms, and other false financial documents to support the fraudulent PPP loan applications.
Daisha Sanders submitted the PPP loan applications on behalf of each of the co-conspirators, according to the indictment. Once the PPP loans were funded, the co-conspirators would pay her up to $5,000 for making and submitting the false loan applications.
In addition to the wire fraud conspiracy, Daisha Sanders is charged with one count of wire fraud, and each of the remaining defendants is charged with aiding and abetting Daisha Sanders in one count of wire fraud. Each of the defendants allegedly applied for a PPP loan of approximately $20,833.
Daisha Sanders is also charged with one count of money laundering. The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Daisha Sanders to forfeit to the government any proceeds she derived from the alleged offenses, including a money judgment of $70,832.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
