A Lakeland man, Jeanty Cherilus, aged 54, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison following his guilty plea on January 22, for committing wire fraud related to COVID-19 relief funds. U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven also ordered Cherilus to forfeit $370,000, the ill-gotten gains from his scheme involving a fake automobile business and fraudulent loan applications, as reported by the Department of Justice on their official website.
Documents from the court revealed that Cherilus, the proprietor of Natransusa Corporation (NATRANS), falsified PPP loans and EIDL applications by exaggerating the number of employees and payroll figures and also falsely certified that any received funds would be used strictly for business operations, instead of the proceeds being used for personal reasons, including self-enrichment which was never his to claim as his business was just air and words on paper.
After an investigation sparked by a tip-off, the United States Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) spearheaded the case which uncovered the fraudulent activities, according to the Department of Justice. The OIG unit operates alongside the Department of Justice within the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Task Force, which is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of federal assistance programs.
In a statement, Sean Bottary, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at USAID OIG, emphasized the organization's commitment by saying "USAID OIG will continue its aggressive pursuit of accountability for bad actors that exploit and abuse federal assistance programs, domestically or overseas," as per the Department of Justice's release.
