Source: Office of United States Attorneys
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Tanisha Wooding, 46, of Huntington, pleaded guilty today to theft of government money. Wooding fraudulently obtained $91,664 in COVID-19 loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for her personal use.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from on or about July 26, 2020, through on or about June 10, 2021, Wooding knowingly defrauded and obtained money from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program authorized by the CARES Act. Wooding applied for and received four PPP loans totaling $81,664, falsely claiming on each application that the loan was for a business to cover payroll and other allowable expenses. Wooding listed an insurance agency on two of the applications, a carpet cleaning business on the third and a tax service on the fourth. Wooding also applied for and received a $10,000 EIDL program loan, falsely claiming the money was for an insurance business where she employed 10 people.
As part of her guilty plea, Wooding admitted that she did not own or operate any such businesses and had no payroll or other eligible business expenses during that time. The proceeds from each fraudulently obtained loan were deposited in Wooding’s personal bank account in West Virginia. Wooding admitted that she made dozens of cash withdrawals and mobile payment and digital wallet service transfers to spend loan proceeds for personal use.
The CARES Act made forgivable PPP relief loans available to adversely impacted eligible businesses and authorized the SBA to provide EIDL program loans to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption.
Wooding is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Wooding also owes $101,204.31 in restitution.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG), the Litigation Financial Analyst with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
NASA OIG is an active member of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, including spending via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This case was also supported by the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help OIGs and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Tessman is prosecuting 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. 3:25-cr-122.
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