$600K COVID Fraud Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Among 7 Indicted By DOJ

CAMPBELL HALL, NY — An indictment was unsealed on Wednesday charging seven people with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, prosecutors announced.

Six of the people, including one man from Orange County, were arrested on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

James Hames, Jr., 65, of Campbell Hall, and the six co-conspirators were also charged with wire fraud, and aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns, federal prosecutors said.

The other co-conspirators included 46-year-old Keith Williams, of West Hempstead; 41-year-old Janine Davis, a/k/a "Holiday," of Wheatley Heights; 55-year-old Morais Dicks, of Dix Hills; 26-year-old Jamari Lewis, a/k/a "Mr. Chaketah," of Queens; 32-year-old Ewendra Mathurin, a/k/a "Rayda," of Queens; and 41-year-old Tiffany Williams, a/k/a "Joy," of Brooklyn.

Lewis is not in custody yet, according to the DOJ, but will be arraigned on a future date.

"As alleged, the defendants shamefully took advantage of a global health emergency to line their pockets with millions of dollars that were intended for struggling families and small businesses just trying to stay afloat and lavished themselves with luxury goods while shamefully boasting about their criminal activity," said U.S. Attorney John Durham. "My Office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who stole taxpayer dollars intended to assist Americans coping with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic."

According to court documents, between November 2021 and June 2023, the seven co-conspirators filed over 8,000 quarterly payroll tax returns claiming over $600 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. On behalf of themselves and their clients, they submitted filings seeking payment under the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit. Several of the defendants also filed fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications, Durham said.

The scheme mostly operated out of Williams' purported credit repair business, "Credit Reset," according to the DOJ. In order to claim ERC and SFLC funds, the seven co-conspirators submitted tax returns to the IRS on behalf of shell companies, most of which had no legitimate operations of employees, according to prosecutors. They were able to secure over $44 million through the scheme, which they spent on jewelry, electronics, designer clothing and luxury cars.

When investigators executed a search warrant at Williams' home, they seized millions of dollars' worth of luxury goods that appear to have been purchased using proceeds of the scheme, including items from Rolex, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Balenciaga and Versace, as well as high-end vehicles, including a Land Rover, a Polaris Slingshot, and a Tesla Model Y, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The defendants each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of wire fraud, up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to three years in prison for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, prosecutors said.