ATLANTA — An attorney who was once an Atlanta Police officer was found guilty this week of fraudulently taking $7 million in COVID relief loans.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta announced the conviction 62-year-old Shelitha Robertson who, a release said, had "conspired to submit (Paycheck Protection Program) loan applications on behalf of four businesses she owned" that "falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the four businesses."
The result, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, was over $7 million in loans that she used to "purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring, and to transfer funds to family members and her co-conspirator."
The release said the co-conspirator earlier pleaded guilty. That person's role in the fraud scheme ballooned the total in loans received to roughly $15 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Robertson was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
The U.S. Attorney's release said she will be sentenced on April 11, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, plus 10 years in prison maximum for money laundering. Many similar cases have not seen prison sentences adding up like that, however - one man convicted this year of taking $8 million and buying a private island, for instance, is now serving five-and-a-half years in federal prison.
"A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors," the release stated.
