DC Man Illegally Collected Over $280,000 in COVID Relief While on Federal Supervised Release

A Washington, DC resident has admitted to defrauding the federal government of more than a quarter-million dollars in COVID-19 relief funds, despite being under federal supervision for a prior felony conviction. Jemel Lyles, 43, pleaded guilty this week in a Maryland federal court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft tied to the misuse of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

Between April 2020 and February 2021, Lyles orchestrated a scheme to obtain six fraudulent PPP loans, submitting false payroll and tax documents and inflating employee and payroll figures to increase loan amounts. He sidestepped program rules that disqualified individuals with certain felony convictions by hiding his ownership of the businesses applying for the funds or using another person’s identity to front the applications. The loans were issued to entities including Green Capital Construction and Landscape, LLC and JSL Investments LLC.

Despite restrictions on how relief funds could be spent, Lyles used the money on personal expenses such as jewelry, a home gym, and financial investments. He also made child-support payments and charged retail purchases to personal credit accounts. In total, the fraudulent activity cost U.S. taxpayers approximately $281,900.

At the time of the offenses, Lyles was already on supervised release for an earlier federal fraud conviction, further compounding the legal consequences. He now faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, an additional two years for aggravated identity theft, and up to two more years for violating his supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for September 10.

This case is part of the work of the Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force, which is one of five federal task forces formed to investigate pandemic-related fraud. These teams focus on identifying and prosecuting large-scale relief fund abuses across state lines. Residents with knowledge of COVID-19 fraud are encouraged to report tips through the Department of Justice’s disaster fraud hotline or online complaint form.

Article by multiple contributors, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland press release.

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