COLUMBUS – Two Central Ohio women are facing federal charges of fraudulently receiving more than $2.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program.
Lorie Schaefer, of Westerville, allegedly received nearly $1.9 million by fraudulently claiming an affiliation with the Flying Pizza restaurants in Dayton, Centerville and Fairborn, claiming to have 98 employees, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker.
When notified that a PPP loan application had been filed in the name of Flying Pizza, the family-owned business said their restaurants could not justify such a large loan.
Parker’s office says the 62-year-old Schaefer improperly used the funds for personal expenses, including nearly $26,000 on liposuction and more than $900,000 to purchase and renovate a condominium in Westerville.
Schaefer and allegedly submitted altered bank records as part of her application. Schaefer also claimed the business was established in March 2021, even though the original Flying Pizza was established in 1984.
She is accused of helping co-defendant Latisha Holloway, 42, of Reynoldsburg, who claimed to own a logistics business with 76 employees, in receiving more than $980,000 in fraudulent loans.
Both defendants allegedly collected unemployment benefits after receiving federal covid-relief funds, Parker’s office said.
Man pleads guilty to embezzling $26 million
A Powell man has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $26 million from the furniture company he worked for, Parker’s office announced.
Yi He was a long-time employee of a furniture company that provided furniture to retailers like Wayfair, Overstock, Kohls, Walmart and Ashley, where he was solely responsible for payroll and payroll tax-related duties for the company, Parker said..
From 2018 until 2022, Parker says Yi, 35, embezzled $26.5 million from the company’s bank account into his own personal and financial investment accounts and submitted false bank and financial statements to the company’s leadership to remain undetected.
As part of his guilty plea on charges of wire fraud and filling a false tax return, Yi will pay more than $27 million in restitution to the furniture company and will forfeit two homes in Reynoldsburg and one home in Columbus.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and filing a false tax return carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison.