A mother and daughter from New York have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of fraudulently obtaining $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The mother, Andrea Ayers, worked as a civilian employee at the Mount Vernon Police Department.
According to a report by The Journal News, Ayers has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison by U.S. District Judge Nelson Roman. Her daughter, Alicia, has also been sentenced to two years. Following her prison term, Alicia, who works as a financial advisor and accountant, will serve six months on house arrest.
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The Ayers were arrested in March 2021 after it came to light that they had submitted grant applications for businesses that did not meet the qualification criteria. These grants were only available to business owners with at least 10 employees, a requirement that none of the Ayers’ businesses met. As a result, the women pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements.
The judge denied the Ayers’ plea for leniency, and they are now facing prison time for their million-dollar fraud. Their lawyers argued that, as first-time offenders, they should be allowed to serve their sentence at home, considering their family responsibilities and their genuine remorse for their actions.
The prosecutors had initially requested a prison sentence of 5 to 6 years, but the final sentences imposed were shorter than that. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, however, hopes that even with the reduced prison time, the punishment will still serve as a warning to others.
“These defendants stole from a taxpayer-funded program intended to help small businesses that were in desperate need of assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Williams said in a statement. “As their convictions and sentences reflect, my Office is determined to continue to work to bring to justice those who exploit and defraud government programs during a national emergency.”
The judge also sentenced the women to forfeit $1.69 million. They must report to the penitentiary by August 2.
