Federal prosecutors say six St. Louis-area residents turned pandemic lifelines for small businesses into their own personal cash pipeline, allegedly orchestrating an $8.39 million relief-fraud operation built on fake companies, stolen identities and phony loan applications. Authorities claim the group pushed through dozens of bogus Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan filings over several years in what investigators describe as a preparer-driven network that recruited or impersonated legitimate business owners to grab emergency funds.
As reported by FOX 2, prosecutors say the defendants submitted at least 40 fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications between March 2020 and December 2024, pulling in roughly $8,387,593. The paperwork allegedly came loaded with inflated payroll figures, bogus vendor invoices and slick websites meant to make shell companies look like real, operating businesses.
The indictment names Raymond Porter Jr., David Holmon, Monica Butler, Dana Kelly, Alexander Simpson and Latrice Davis, and charges them with a range of federal crimes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Porter is accused of 15 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft, four counts of money laundering and one conspiracy count. Holmon faces 10 wire-fraud counts, five aggravated-identity-theft counts, two money-laundering counts and one conspiracy count. Butler, Kelly and Simpson are charged with various combinations of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy counts, and Davis faces wire-fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy charges as well. William Steenson, in a statement attached to the charges, said the relief programs were intended to provide economic stability to small businesses during the pandemic.
Alleged Method and Money Trail
Prosecutors say the defendants set up fake websites and business email accounts, posed as real business owners and funneled loan proceeds into bank accounts later tapped for personal use. Investigators allege Porter and Holmon received direct payments totaling more than $1.4 million and collected around $900,000 more in preparer fees, with some of those fees described as 10 to 20 percent of any approved loan. Many transfers were labeled as payments for equipment or consulting services, investigators say, before the money was shifted into personal spending rather than legitimate business expenses, according to FOX 2.
Who Investigated and What’s Next
Federal officials say the case stems from a multi-agency investigation involving the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the HHS Office of Inspector General. Porter, Holmon and Davis were arrested on Friday, and the indictment says the other defendants have also been charged. Initial court appearances in U.S. District Court are expected to follow, along with potential asset seizure or forfeiture actions. Prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing as they work to identify any additional co-conspirators and claw back what they describe as ill-gotten proceeds.
If convicted on the federal counts, the defendants face significant prison time, heavy fines and orders to repay the money. Prosecutors have also signaled they will seek restitution and forfeiture in an effort to return funds to the government and any victims of the scheme.
The case adds to a growing stack of pandemic-era fraud prosecutions in the St. Louis region and across the country, and officials are urging anyone with information about the alleged scheme to contact federal investigators.
