A woman in North Carolina is accused of using a $149,000 COVID-19 relief loan to go shopping at luxury stores
- Jasmine Johnnae Clifton is accused of fraudulently obtaining a $149,000 COVID-19 relief loan.
- Prosecutors say she spent the loan at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, and other stores.
- She has been charged with wire fraud in connection to the allegations.
A 24-year-old woman in North Carolina has been accused of spending a $149,000 COVID-19 relief loan at Louis Vuitton, diamond stores, and other luxury spots.
Jasmine Johnnae Clifton, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been charged with wire fraud in relation to disaster benefit and fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits, the US Attorney's Office in the Western District of North Carolina said in a press release.
Prosecutors say Clifton used an online retail clothing sales business called Jazzy Jas LLC to obtain a COVID-19 loan from the US Small Business Administration (SBA) last year, even though the company had been dissolved several months prior.
Clifton's application also included false revenue information and fraudulent tax documents, prosecutors say.
The loan she applied for was being distributed as part of the CARES Act designed to help small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but prosecutors say Clifton used the loan to go shopping instead.
"Clifton allegedly used the government funds to make purchases at numerous retail stores, including at Nordstrom, Ikea, Neiman Marcus, Rooms To Go, Louis Vuitton, Best Buy and other retail shopping outlets. Clifton also made purchases at multiple diamond stores," the US Attorney's Office in the Western District of North Carolina said in the press release.
A federal grad jury in Charlotte indicted Clifton on February 17, and she made her first court appearance on Monday, where she was released on bond.
Clifton faces up to 30 years in prison for each charge, and up to $350,000 in fines.