A North Texas woman allegedly obtained more than $680,000 in pandemic relief loans through false business records and used some of the money to build a Cedar Hill home, federal prosecutors announced on Monday.
April Watson, 50, faces a 10-count indictment alleging four counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and four counts of money laundering. She made her initial court appearance October 23, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Watson also uses the names April Watson Horton and April Shawnette Watson. An indictment contains allegations, and Watson remains presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove her guilt in court.
Prosecutors allege the scheme spanned April 2020 through October 2021 and involved Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The applications involved businesses including Exotic Bliss Beauty LLC, Brain Evolution LLC, and Southern Home Ventures LLC.
Watson allegedly supported applications with fabricated payroll summaries and false IRS forms. The indictment alleges that a purported payroll provider had not prepared the W-2 and W-3 forms submitted for Exotic Bliss and Southern Home Ventures, and that those businesses had filed no wage-related tax returns for 2019 or 2020.
The alleged payments included $210,698 in PPP funds from Kabbage, $299,800 in disaster loans from the Small Business Administration and $169,994 in PPP funds from JPMorgan Chase. Those amounts total $680,492.
Three transfers for construction of a personal residence totaled $114,850, the indictment alleges. It also lists a separate $40,000 transfer to an associate.
“This office and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in hunting down pandemic-era fraud and holding these bad actors accountable,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in the release.
Prosecutors seek forfeiture of the Cedar Hill residence and a money judgment for proceeds tied to the alleged offenses.
If convicted, Watson faces maximum prison terms of 20 years for each wire fraud count, 30 years for each bank fraud count and 10 years for each money laundering count, prosecutors said.
IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case through the Dallas El Dorado Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elise Aldendifer is prosecuting it.
