Tuscaloosa Woman Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A Tuscaloosa County woman pleaded guilty this week to defrauding the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

Erica Lasha Prewitt, 42, of Tuscaloosa, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler to theft of government funds.

According to the plea agreement, in August 2020, Prewitt received a fraudulent PPP loan totaling $96,875. Prewitt made material misrepresentations on the loan application that was supported by fraudulent documentation. In September 2021, Prewitt submitted a PPP Loan Forgiveness Application in which she claimed her business employed 30 people and the full amount of the loan was spent on payroll costs. Prewitt never owned or operated a business and did not use the PPP loan funds to retain workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prewitt is scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, 2024. The maximum penalty for theft of government funds is 10 years in prison.

FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan "Jack" Harrington is prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 relief funds can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.