A Silver Spring man has been sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in two fraudulent loan schemes, including misuse of pandemic relief funds. Andra Shirone Thompson, 48, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In addition to prison time, he was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, forfeit $847,280, and pay $813,363.01 in restitution.
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Thompson admitted to participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, both established under the CARES Act. He and his co-conspirators submitted false applications on behalf of businesses under his control, including Alpha Bravo Tango LLC, Senergy Consulting Group Inc., and Novus Ordo Seclorum LLC, securing $716,375 in funds. The money was spent on luxury items, including a 2014 Lamborghini Aventador and home renovations in North Carolina.
Beyond pandemic relief fraud, Thompson was involved in a scheme to deceive commercial equipment financing companies. He and others submitted fraudulent invoices for computer servers and related equipment, leading lenders to approve loans under false pretenses. Once approved, the funds were deposited into accounts controlled by Thompson and his co-conspirators, who kept a portion of the money and returned the rest to the applicants. This scheme alone caused over $813,362 in fraudulent lending, contributing to a total of more than $60 million in losses across more than 350 fraudulent loans.
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Authorities identified Craig David Davis, 49, of Venice, California, as Thompson’s principal co-conspirator. Davis pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a separate case and was sentenced to 93 months in prison. The case was investigated by the District of Maryland Strike Force, part of a national initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute large-scale pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force, one of five nationwide, targets criminal organizations that exploited COVID-19 financial assistance programs.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud related to COVID-19 relief funds is encouraged to report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud through its hotline or web complaint form.
Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland.
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