Tri-Cities woman guilty of fraud after taking taxpayer money for sham business

A West Richland woman has pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming $337,267 in federal COVID relief funding for a construction business that had done no work and employed no people.

The maximum penalty for the crime is up to five years in prison and three years probation.

Jimia Rae Cane, 52, has agreed to a recommendation to the federal court that she pay back the money she received, according to federal court documents.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Washington will recommend to U.S. Judge Mary Dimke a prison sentence at the low end of a range that will be calculated based on factors such as her criminal history, according to a plea agreement.

Although she told the Small Business Administration in a loan application that she had no convictions more serious than minor traffic violations, she has past convictions for fraud and multiple gross misdemeanor convictions that made her ineligible for federal loans, according to court documents.

Both Cane and the prosecution agreed she should be sentenced to three years probation.

In 2020 President Biden signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide relief to small businesses struggling during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 relief programs quickly ran out of money due to the number of businesses that requested funding, meaning that struggling, deserving small businesses were not able to obtain critically needed funding to keep their businesses afloat during the shutdowns and disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref.

Waldref launched the COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force with other federal agencies to fight pandemic-related fraud that harmed small businesses in Eastern Washington that provide needed services and jobs.

Business bank account had $25

In May 2020, Cane applied for a CARES Act loan for small businesses affected by the pandemic and received a loan of almost $72,000.

She said that her company Americore Construction was established in February 2017 and had three employees and gross revenues over the past year of $450,000.

In fact, the company had no employees, no expenses and no receipts for the year before she filed, and the company had not filed any state taxes or payroll records with the state between 2018 and 2020, according to court documents.

Cane had opened a checking account with $25 for the company in spring 2020, and the account had less than $50 more before she received the loan in July 2020, according to court documents.

A month later Cain applied for a loan from a different CARES Act program, the Paycheck Protection Program. The loan program was intended to help retain employees and pay some other expenses during the pandemic, and its loans were eligible to be forgiven, with no money paid back.

She said that she had seven employees then and an average monthly payroll of $106,107. She submitted an Internal Revenue Service form, which was false, to back up her claims, according to court documents.

She received $265,267 in taxpayer money days after applying for the loan.

In October 2021 she asked the loan to be forgiven, but the Small Business Administration denied the request because she had not filed federal tax records in 2019 and could not produce a return.

She is scheduled to be sentenced June 1 in the Richland U.S. Courthouse.

The COVID Fraud Strike Force that investigated her included the Small Business Administration, Department of Homeland Security and Treasury offices of inspector general and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutors on the case were Dan Fruchter and Tyler Tornabene, assistant U.S. attorneys.

This story was originally published November 28, 2022 at 5:00 AM.