Roswell Woman Scammed Government Out Of $6M PPP Loan Scam

ROSWELL, GA — A Roswell woman has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to misusing $6,000,000 in Payment Protection Program funds.

Prosecutors said in a news release that 49-year-old Hunter VanPelt, also known as Hunter Lauren VanPelt, Ellen Corkrum and Ellen Yabba Kwame Corkrum, submitted fake PPP loan applications totaling $7,943,591.50.

VanPelt owned or controlled the six businesses seeking the PPP loans: Georgia Nephrology Physician Associated, United Healthcare Group & Co., Nephrology Network Group LLC, First Corporate International, Corkrum Consolidated Inc., and Kiwi International Inc.

She lied about how many employees she had and the average monthly payroll. She also submitted fake IRS records, bank statements, and payroll reports.

VanPelt pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges in August 2021.

“The Paycheck Protection Program is meant to help legitimate businesses and their workers through the depths of the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, VanPelt decided to use the program as her personal bank. A significant federal sentence, such as the one she received, hopefully deters others from following the same path.”

Federal agents were able to recover $2.1 million of the funds.

The FBI will not tolerate anyone who misdirects federal emergency assistance intended for business who actually need it to stay operational,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta in the release. “This sentence serves as a message that the FBI and our federal partners remain vigilant during this Coronavirus pandemic to make sure funds provided by programs like PPP are used as intended."

VanPelt was sentenced to three years and five months in prison with five more years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $7,002,031.50 in restitution.