Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – RENIC PALMER, JR. (“PALMER”), age 25, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced on February 13, 2025, before United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier. PALMER previously pled guilty to making or using false writings or documents to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(3), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.
According to court documents, PALMER submitted false writings and documents to the SBA, to obtain a Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) Loan. In his application, among other things, PALMER falsely represented that he was the owner of a merchant wholesale hair supply company formed in 2017, and that he was eligible for PPP funds. As a result of these false representations, PALMER obtained $20,832.00 from the SBA.
Judge Barbier sentenced PALMER to three years of probation, restitution of $20,832 to the SBA, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the Special Agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service for their work on this case. Assistant United States Attorney Andre J. Lagarde of the Public Integrity Unit is in charge of the prosecution.