A Missouri woman has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for defrauding the government out of COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. Juashayla Jane Walls, 31, from Jennings, was also ordered to pay back $55,833 and faces a five-year term of supervised release upon her imprisonment's completion. U.S District Judge Matthew T. Schelp delivered the sentence and demanded repayment after Walls pleaded guilty to a felony charge of wire fraud in connection with her bogus claims for her fictional company named the "Barbie Factory."
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Walls filed fraudulent loan applications with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in 2020 and 2021. She sought tens of thousands of dollars by inventing employees and wages that did not exist, in one instance claiming a monthly payroll of $8,000 for her non-operational company. Despite earlier delays in sentencing after Walls claimed some of the money went to another business, Judge Schelp pointed out, her indulgences included nearly $8,000 in casino expenses.
The fraud first came to light with a PPP loan application Walls submitted on August 25, 2020, seeking $20,000 for what she claimed was a viable business. Her deception continued with a successful loan forgiveness application and subsequent loan requests totaling over $40,000, some of which were approved. Furthermore, Walls tried to extract additional funds from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program by alleging that the money would be used for the invented Barbie Factory payroll and other business expenses.
Judge Schelp described Walls' criminal actions as "sickening" and "disheartening," especially given the global crisis during which these funds were intended to support distressed American businesses and workers. The case, investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman. The Department of Justice continues to seek out instances of pandemic fraud and urges the public to report any suspicions to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline or via their online complaint form.
