Former NC couple used their company in $2M bank loan and COVID fraud scheme, feds claim
A former Huntersville couple are facing charges of fraudulently obtaining $2 million in bank loans and COVID relief funds from the federal government for a moving business, authorities said Thursday.
Antoine Johnson, 48, and 43-year-old Kimberly Maddox fraudulently received funds through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan, multiple lines of credit and bank loans, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
A federal indictment was filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte in the case.
Dena King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said the alleged fraud occurred between 2018 and 2023.
The indictment said Johnson and Maddox operated Pick Up and Go Moving International and PUGMI, its affiliated business. To get loans, they lied on applications about income, gross revenues expenses and employee totals, according to the indictment.
Fabricated documents such as tax returns and financial statements were also submitted, the indictment said.
Johnson and Maddox are living in Georgia now, according to the news release from King’s office. They are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. If convicted, they could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassye Cole is prosecuting the case that was investigated by the FBI.
News of the announcement comes a day after Evan Perez, of Charlotte, was sentenced to two years in prison for a fraud scheme involving $720,000 in COVID relief funds. He pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of N.C. has prosecuted close to 30 people for defrauding government funding programs.
