In a tale of deceitful gain amidst a global pandemic, a North Carolina couple has admitted in court to siphoning off over a million dollars from COVID-19 relief programs. According to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement, Tatiana Vazquez and Marquise Highsmith have pleaded guilty to charges related to wire fraud conspiracy and a conspiracy to defraud the government.
Paperwork filed in court reveals a calculated scheme carried out from May 2020 through February 2023, where the couple and their cohort filed numerous falsified applications for Small Business Administration and IRS relief funds, including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Fueled by fabricated business ventures and employees that didn't exist, these applications proved successful in amassing fraudulent gains. Sharing a piece of the illicit pie, Vazquez and Highsmith lined their pockets with over $450,000 in relief funds, and managed to secure loan forgiveness through further misrepresentations, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The couple didn't stop at loan fraud. Digging deeper into other federal programs like the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick Leave and Family Leave Credit program, as outlined by court documents, Highsmith and Vazquez, kept filing fraudulent claims. These programs aimed to refund a portion of employment taxes and wages, yet under false pretenses, the defendants and their accomplices pocketed over a million dollars in COVID-related tax refunds. Amidst the details of wrongdoing, both Vazquez and Highsmith remain released on bond, while the precise date of their sentencing hangs in the balance.
Special thanks were given by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the IRS Criminal Investigation for heading this investigation. Ferguson, in the process of untangling this web of deceit, acknowledged assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. Handling the case are Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Bozin and Daniel Ryan, who will be preparing for the next judicial steps following the couple's guilty plea.
