Atlantic Co. Man Admits $1.3M COVID Relief Fund Fraud

EGG HARBOR TWP, NJ — An Egg Harbor Township man pleaded guilty to creating fake businesses in order to fraudulently get COVID-19 relief funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Jeremy Earley, 41, was charged with one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Earley, with the help of conspirator Rhoda Thomas, created two small businesses - D2R Agency LLC and More Life Records LLC, according to court documents.

These two businesses received more than $1.3 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal program that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.

The loans were approved based on fraudulent applications submitted by Thomas, who Earley paid $400,000 for, according to officials.

Applications claimed the businesses had "dozens" of employees and monthly payrolls of $145,000 and $382,400, officials said. The applications also had fake tax forms, officials said.

In reality, according to court documents, Earley's businesses had no employees other than himself and paid minimal to no wages.

Earley faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

Thomas previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and money laundering and was sentenced to five years in prison.