Billions of dollars went missing from the federal programs launched during the COVID-19 years to help businesses affected by the health emergency. Now, a well-known Democrat has been sentenced to prison for defrauding millions of federal funds.
Early last year, the Punching Bag Post reported on the findings of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) that revealed $5.4 billion doled out to fraudulent Social Security Numbers (SNNs) between April 2020 and October 2022. More than a year later, a well-known Democrat from Georgia has been jailed for stealing millions of that money.
Shelitha Robertson, a Democrat who is a former Atlanta Assistant City Attorney, was found guilty in December 2023 of fraudulently acquiring over $7 million in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Robertson is the second defendant in the approximately $15 million PPP fraud conspiracy case; her co-conspirator pleaded guilty before the trial. The DOJ press release wrote:
Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring, and to transfer funds to family members and her co-conspirator.
On Friday (June 7), Robertson was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, as reported by The Gateway Pundit. The story cited Kyle A. Myles, Special Agent from the Office of Inspector General, Atlanta Region, as:
“Today the defendant in this case was held accountable for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through the Paycheck Protection Program and using those stolen funds to enrich herself, while small businesses were struggling during the pandemic.”
Daily Mail reported that prior to her sentencing, Robertson appealed to the judge that she is broke. She was cited saying in the court:
“I’m dead broke. My business is gone. My (law) license is gone. My assets are gone. The only thing I have left is my family and my faith in God.”
Robertson’s co-conspirator, Chandra McNeil Norton pleaded guilty in November 2020 to wire fraud worth $7.8 million. Norton, also an attorney and friend of Robertson, was disbarred in January 2023 by a Georgia Supreme Court ruling. Regtechtimes reported that Norton is scheduled for sentencing on August 14, 2024.
Reporting on the Democrat’s sentencing, Fox News aired a clip of Robertson from last year wherein she is seen offering pearls of wisdom on a podcast: “Don’t chase the money. Chase your passion. The money will come.”
The story also revealed that Robertson donated $1000 to Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney who is prosecuting President Trump over the alleged attempt to influence the 2020 election officials in Georgia. The case has now been halted indefinitely by an appeals court while a panel of judges decides on whether or not Willis can stay on it as a prosecutor.