Global Courant
A southwestern Florida couple has been accused of stealing more than $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds and using the money to buy boats, new businesses and other luxury items.
Timothy Craig Jolloff, 46, and Lisa Ann Jolloff, 56, first appeared in federal court in Fort Myers Friday on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and illegal monetary transactions, according to court documents. Timothy Jolloff is also charged with one count of wire fraud.
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According to a criminal indictment, Timothy Jolloff filed false and fraudulent disaster economic loss loan applications and the Paycheck Protection Program with the Small Business Administration, as well as a PPP-approved lender, in the spring of 2020. This caused the SBA and a PPP lender to approve and fund 11 disaster loans and six PPP loans, totaling about $2.14 million, prosecutors said.
A southwestern Florida couple is accused of stealing more than $2 million in pandemic relief funds. (Fox news)
The Jolloffs then used the money to buy three pontoon boats, Indiana real estate, home furnishings, outdoor kitchens for their homes, a 2020 Polaris utility vehicle, jewelry and two dogs, investigators said. The couple also bought a furniture company in Indiana and a landscaping company in Florida, which had no affiliation with the companies the couple had received COVID relief funds from, officials said.
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Online court records listed no lawyers for the Jolloffs.
The Paycheck Protection Program includes billions of dollars in forgivable small business loans for Americans struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money is to be used to pay employees, mortgage interest, rent and utilities. It is part of the coronavirus relief package that became federal law in 2020.
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The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is designed to provide economic relief to small businesses experiencing temporary loss of income. The Main Street Lending Program is designed to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses and their employees in the United States during the pandemic.
