A resident of Milledgeville, Georgia, has been convicted of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering for her role in a scheme to obtain fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Rosalend Way, 40, was found guilty on September 24 after a three-day trial. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is set for December 2.
James Frank Austin, 51, of Americus, Georgia, who was also involved in the scheme, pleaded guilty on August 27 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and two counts of money laundering. He could receive up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine at his sentencing scheduled for November 19.
U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell is overseeing the case. There is no parole available in the federal system.
According to court documents presented during the trial, Way and Austin applied for a PPP loan on June 21, 2020, using Propel Opportunity Fund as their business entity. The application falsely claimed that Propel had 18 employees with an average monthly payroll exceeding $420,000 and submitted fraudulent wage documentation. IRS records indicated that Propel did not pay any salaries or wages in 2019.
The loan application was approved and resulted in $1,051,395 being disbursed to Propel Opportunity Fund. Investigators determined that approximately $500,000 ended up in accounts controlled by Way and was used for personal expenses such as dining out and retail purchases. Additionally, Austin used about $30,000 from another fraudulent PPP loan to pay off Way’s Mercedes-Benz.
Austin also submitted a separate false PPP loan application on behalf of the Austin Smith Center for Community Development (ASCCD), resulting in an award of over $654,000. He obtained another fraudulent PPP loan for Propel totaling more than $372,000 in March 2021. Instead of using these funds as required under program rules—for payroll or authorized business expenses—Austin spent significant amounts on personal items including nearly $120,000 on a Bentley automobile. In total he received over $2 million through fraudulent applications.
U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes commented: “Our office will pursue justice against those who exploited a taxpayer funded program created to sustain citizens during a national emergency… Our federal investigative and prosecutorial team is committed to holding these offenders accountable.”
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown stated: “Way and Austin chose to commit fraud… The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue criminals who cheat federal health programs and profit at the expense of American taxpayers.”
Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman from IRS Criminal Investigation added: “Defrauding the U.S. government is a serious offense which can bring lifelong consequences… IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners will hold those accountable who exploit and defraud government programs for their own benefit.”
The FBI and IRS conducted the investigation into this case while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Howard and Hannah Couch are handling prosecution duties.
Members of the public with information regarding attempted COVID-19 relief fraud can report it via the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
