Sickerville Woman Imprisoned For Fraudulently Obtaining Millions In COVID Loans

SICKLERVILLE, NJ — A Sicklerville woman was sentenced Monday to five years in prison and must pay millions of dollars for fraudulently obtaining about 30 COVID-relief loans.

Rhonda Thomas, 38, falsified documents to apply for small-business loans authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, federal authorities said. She obtained more than $3.1 million for herself and her co-conspirators.

Thomas pleaded guilty in June to one count each of bank-fraud conspiracy and money laundering — both federal offenses. As part of the sentence, the judge ordered her to pay $3.18 million and restitution and forfeit an additional $1.03 million. Following incarceration, Thomas must undergo five years of supervised release.

A co-conspirator — Stephen Bennett, of Berlin — was sentenced in November to 3 years, 5 months in prison for his role in the scheme.

The loans came from two federal COVID-relief programs: the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). To obtain either loan, qualifying businesses had to provide information such as expenses and the number of employees in their applications. Applicants also had to provide supporting documentation.

From 2020-21, Thomas submitted at least 10 PPP applications and three EIDL applications for companies she controlled. She told lenders that her companies had employees and payroll expenses. However, many of her companies were nominal businesses without any workers.

Thomas also conspired with other purported business owners to submit at least 20 fraudulent applications for the relief programs. The Sicklerville resident forged tax forms and altered bank statements to falsely represent the number of employees, payroll and expenses for each business.

Through the loans, Thomas personally received $330,000, along with more than $700,000 through kickbacks from other conspirators for prepping their fraudulent applications. She used loan proceeds for personal expenses. In March 2022, Thomas withdrew about $60,000 of the proceeds in cash at a credit union in Camden County.