Source: US FBI
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – After two days of trial, a federal jury convicted Kisha Sutton, 44, of Jersey City, New Jersey, of aiding and abetting bank fraud (Count one) and aiding and abetting laundering of monetary instruments (Count two).
Evidence at trial proved that Sutton and co-defendant Shamiese Wright aided and abetted one another to obtain a fraudulent $15,625 Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loan on behalf of Wright, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Sutton received $3,000 in fraudulent PPP loan proceeds from Wright as part of their scheme.
On April 19, 2021, Sutton submitted the PPP loan application on Wright’s behalf, listing Wright as a self-employed individual who received $75,000 in gross income in 2020. The application was filed with an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040, Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business, reflecting that Wright had earned $75,000 in 2020. Evidence at trial showed that Wright was not self-employed, had never earned $75,000 in any year, had received unemployment benefits in 2020, and that the IRS Form 1040 submitted with Wright’s application was fraudulent and created solely to obtain the PPP loan.
A PPP lender in Florida approved Wright’s loan application, and $15,625 in fraudulent loan proceeds were electronically deposited in Wright’s personal bank account in Charleston on or about May 7, 2021. Wright transferred the $3,000 to Sutton from the fraudulent PPP loan proceeds using a digital wallet application between May 7, and May 21, 2021. Wright staggered her payments to Sutton and provided misleading transfer descriptions for them to conceal and disguise the nature and the source of the money.
The CARES Act made forgivable PPP loans available to qualifying sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed individuals adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to replace their normal income and for certain other eligible expenses. Applicants were required to certify that they were in operation on February 15, 2020, and provide documentation showing their prior gross income from either 2019 or 2020.
Sutton is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison. Sutton owes restitution in an amount to be determined by the Court.
“The CARES Act offered emergency assistance to struggling small businesses that were impacted by the pandemic. The defendant chose to exploit that lifeline for personal enrichment,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia is glad to have played a significant role teaming with our law enforcement partners to hold the defendant accountable.”
Johnston commended the excellent investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU).
Sutton and Wright and are among several individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on charges alleging they and others conspired, as well as aided and abetted one another, to obtain fraudulent PPP loans totaling $140,625. Wright, 32, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on July 14, 2025, to aiding and abetting the laundering of monetary instruments and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 29, 2025. William Powell and Damisha Brown each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Powell, 35, of Huntington, is scheduled to be sentenced on August 14, 2025 and Brown, 32, of Charleston, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2025. Jasmine Spencer, 32, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on March 25, 2025, to aiding and abetting bank fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 21, 2025.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the jury trial. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan T. Storage and Jennifer D. Gordon and former Assistant United States Attorney Holly Wilson have prosecuted the case.
Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-192.