Coretta “Cory” Elliott, a St. Louis contractor with ties to Mayor Tishaura Jones’ family, is headed to federal prison for abusing pandemic relief funds that were supposed to keep small businesses afloat. Elliott was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison and ordered to repay roughly $1.7 million after pleading guilty to federal wire fraud, closing out a case that began with her guilty plea last November. Prosecutors say her punishment is part of a broader effort to claw back Paycheck Protection Program cash that never should have gone out in the first place.
According to First Alert 4, Elliott admitted to two counts of wire fraud tied to PPP loans and was ordered to repay the funds she obtained improperly. The outlet reports the sentence was handed down Tuesday in federal court in St. Louis, and that restitution was included as part of the court’s judgment.
How prosecutors say she got the money
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri laid out its case in a press release, saying Elliott’s businesses secured a first-draw PPP loan of $875,000 in April 2020 and a second-draw loan of $833,333 in January 2021 by inflating payroll and other business expenses. Prosecutors said she then tried to have those loans forgiven by misrepresenting how the money was spent and diverting portions of the funds to personal accounts, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Loan records and forgiveness
Loan-tracking records reviewed by local reporters show Elliott’s company CMT Roofing claimed 40 employees on its applications, while another entity, CAE Contracting, reported just one employee and received about $20,833. Those loans were later marked as forgiven, according to reporting that cites ProPublica’s PPP tracking database in First Alert 4.
Ties to the mayor’s family and local scrutiny
The case drew extra attention in St. Louis because Elliott has been photographed with members of Mayor Jones’ family and praised in social media posts. Those connections helped fuel local scrutiny even before federal charges were filed. Earlier Investigates reporting by First Alert 4 detailed questions about city contracting, civil suits involving Elliott’s businesses, and a separate fire investigation at her O’Fallon residence that preceded the federal probe.
Legal consequences and next steps
Wire fraud convictions carry hefty potential penalties under federal law, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office had previously noted that Elliott faced up to 30 years in prison based on the charges. With the three-year sentence now imposed and restitution ordered, prosecutors say forfeiture and financial recovery will move forward under federal rules as part of the judgment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Local watchdogs and officials say the outcome signals continued federal focus on pandemic-relief fraud and could renew scrutiny of how city contracts are awarded and monitored. Federal authorities handling PPP enforcement maintain they are still working through cases where loan applications or forgiveness requests appear to have been improperly obtained.
