62-year-old Shelitha Robertson, an ex- City of Atlanta assistant attorney and Atlanta police officer, has been given over 7 years in prison. This comes after she is said to have stolen close to $15 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans from the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Justice noted that Robertson and other co-conspirators received the loans on behalf of four companies she owned and managed.
“The loan applications falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the four businesses. This resulted in larger PPP loans that Robertson would be legitimately entitled to obtain. Robertson and her co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, also submitted false tax documents to support the inflated statements in each loan application,” the DOJ stated.
With the money, Robertson purchased luxury products, including a 10-karat diamond ring. She is also said to have transferred some of the funds to other relatives and her co-conspirator, Chandra Norton.
“Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute criminals who stole pandemic relief funds,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan.
On December 19, 2023, a jury found Robertson guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. She has now been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and will then have three years of supervised release.
