Indictment: Georgia woman used COVID-19 loan fraud scheme to pay for plastic surgery
Plastic surgergeons in France perform an abdominoplasty on man with loose skin after weight loss. (Photo by: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
DACULA, Ga. - Federal authorities have charged a Gwinnett County woman with leading a scheme to get millions in fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds that officials say she used to get plastic surgery.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia charged 39-year-old Ashlee Parker of Dacula, Georgia with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, false documents, money laundering conspiracy, and making false statements.
According to the indictment, Parker is the owner of Proficient Tax LLC, The Harris Parker Group LLC, and AMP Credit Solutions LLC. Officials allege she submitted over two dozen fraudulent applications for loans as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act on behalf of her companies and others.
Investigators say co-conspirators also paid Parker's company Proficient Tax LLC to submit fake applications to try and get funding.
In total, the indictment says that Parker defrauded the U.S. government out of $2 million, part of which she allegedly used at a cosmetic surgery clinic "for a breast augmentation procedure and abdominoplasty with flank liposuction."
"The CARES Act was funded to help small businesses struggling from the effects of a global pandemic," said U.S. Attorney David H. Estes in a statement. "In far too many cases, however, it has been exploited by those seeking to milk these relief programs for their personal profit. With our diligent law enforcement partners, we will continue to identify and hold accountable anyone who violates the law to siphon money from these programs."
If found guilty, Parker faces up to 30 years in federal prison without parole followed by five years of supervised release. She would also be ordered to pay restitution and deal with substantial financial penalties.