Kentucky woman gets prison time over fraudulent requests for coronavirus aid
A Kentucky woman who admitted filing fraudulent applications for coronavirus relief money has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.
Mandy Ellen Bauer, 41, of Green County was sentenced Tuesday.
Bauer had a small business called Family Personal Services that bought used furniture and then refinished and sold the items, according to a court document.
She filed nine applications in 2020 for various forms of financial assistance authorized by Congress to help businesses deal with the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those included tax credits and the Paycheck Protection Program, which provided money to keep employees on the payroll.
Bauer said in some applications that she had six employees and claimed 10 in others, when the business actually had no employees, according to her plea agreement.
She applied for a total of $230,000 in assistance. Officials did not approve any of the applications so Bauer didn’t get any of the money, but pleaded guilty to wire fraud for filling the false requests electronically.
U.S. District Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Bauer in federal court in Bowling Green.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a release in March that criminal charges had been filed against more than 1,000 people for alleged fraud related to the pandemic.
People can report suspected fraud on the DOJ’s website or by calling 866-720-5721.
