Multiple Metro Detroit Residents Plead Guilty In $3M COVID-19 Relief Loan Scheme: Feds

METRO DETROIT — Three people from metro Detroit pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges in connection with a multimillion-dollar Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") fraud scheme, according to federal officials.

Rita Shaba, 39, of Macomb and Samer Kammo, 45, of Shelby Township, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

Christina Anasi, 35, of Shelby Township, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy.

All three will be sentenced next January: Shaba on Jan. 5, Anasi on Jan. 7 and Kammo on Jan. 15. They each face up to 30 years in prison.

Federal officials said the group fraudulently submitted PPP loans for multiple businesses. Officials said the applications misrepresented payroll information for the businesses and falsely said that the money would be used for business-related purposes.

The group also used fake payroll, health insurance, bank and tax records to support the applications, officials said.

Overall, officials said the group received over $3 million in fraudulent PPP loan funds. Officials have seized and recovered more than $2.1 million of those funds.

"While the numbers fraudsters used to illicitly enrich themselves were fake, the prison time they’re facing is very real," United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said. "My office is committed to holding accountable all those who chose to exploit a global pandemic to steal from hardworking taxpayers."

The Paycheck Protection Program was created by Congress to provide assistance to businesses harmed by the economic dislocations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.