A federal grand jury indicted the former Houston entrepreneur, now living in Dallas, on six charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and using funds to make unauthorized purchases, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Kristen Fenrick, 52, owned Clearly Kristen, a company that sold jewelry and accessories from January 2015 to June 2022. When Fenrick applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020, he allegedly overstated the number of employees he had and the number of employees he had. The company's monthly salary expenses.
She now faces decades in prison for submitting fraudulent PPP loan applications, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office. She could be sentenced to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud charge, plus 10 years in prison for the unauthorized purchase charge and five years in prison for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge. If she is convicted, she could also have to pay a $250,000 fine.
The Paycheck Protection Program is a coronavirus-era program that helps small businesses maintain payrolls while they are temporarily closed. Approximately 11.5 million loans were approved, with the federal government disbursing a total of $900 billion to businesses. Texas alone had 938,535 loans approved, according to the state. propublica.
To obtain the loans, Fenrick allegedly sent false documents to the IRS and paid anonymous co-conspirators to help him prepare and submit fraudulent applications, according to the court. However, Fenric maintains his innocence.
“I am not in collusion with anyone. I was deceived and defrauded. I did not personally file the application and I have not seen any 941 issued on behalf of the company. There is no. That's all I want to say,” Fenric said. dallas morning news via LinkedIn.
Mr. Fenrick is one of many people who allegedly used PPP loans for dual purposes. Like others, she was approved for a loan totaling $405,340 in June 2020. According to her court, she was supposed to use the money for her own business, but she instead used it for her personal purchases, including her luxury car.
At one point, the Small Business Administration forgave her loans, the court said, after authorities falsely claimed she had more employees and significantly higher labor costs than she actually had.
She may have gone beyond the PPP loan. Fenrick allegedly made various attempts to obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans, another program to help small businesses survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. ing.
She faces a total of 45 years in prison for the crimes.
