A Framingham businesswoman entered a guilty plea to bank fraud charges for faking millions in business income to score federal COVID-19 relief funds. Vanessa Nixon, 45, admitted to the con on Tuesday, which landed her more than $450,000 in federal loans intended to pad payrolls and keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Her sentencing is set for June 26, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
In the throes of economic desperation, forged between April 2020 and November 2022 were multiple loan applications by Nixon, in the names of her businesses, including Mass Homes Investments LLC and Alpha Auto Body, Inc. Nixon falsified tax documents to back the sham, as detailed by federal prosecutors. Charged just last month, Nixon now faces up to 30 years behind bars, five years of supervised release, and could be hit with a $1 million fine.
The fraudulent scheme unraveled when agencies joined forces, with Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and a trifecta of law enforcement heads making the announcement. Special Agent Jonathan Mellone from the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General, IRS Special Agent Harry Chavis Jr., and U.S. Postal Inspector Ketty Larco-Ward, were key players in Nixon's downfall.
These crimes underscored the relentless work by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established by the Attorney General in May 2021. Committed to rooting out pandemic profiteers, the task force amplifies detection of frauds like Nixon’s, employing a medley of governmental agencies to safeguard the integrity of relief programs. For those sniffing out foul play, a hotline is in place – just dial 866-720-5721 or fill out the NCDF Web Complaint Form to drop a dime on suspected COVID-19 fraudsters.
