A New Orleans woman who sought about $1.3 million through false pandemic-relief loan applications and evaded income taxes over several years has been sentenced in federal court, U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced. Amanda Clayborne-Williams, 45, was sentenced on October 20, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey after previously pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Louisiana

The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation unit, which investigated the case and announced the original charges in June, said the applications were submitted between April 2020 and January 2021 and contained false information about employees, payroll and revenue. That earlier IRS account matches the scheme described in the sentencing release.

Source: Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation

12 false applications, $447,305.98 received

According to court documents cited by the Justice Department, Clayborne-Williams submitted twelve false and misleading applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans, seeking approximately $1.3 million on behalf of four entities. Each application contained materially false information about the number of employees, average monthly payroll, gross receipts or gross revenue. She received approximately $447,305.98 through the fraud and used the money for personal and unauthorized expenses, including a mortgage payment on her own home, the department said.

She did not repay the EIDLs as required and the loans went into default, the department said. She also submitted a forgiveness application to the Small Business Administration for each PPP loan, falsely certifying that she had spent the proceeds on permissible items and payroll; as a result, the SBA forgave eight PPP loans she had obtained.

$1.3 millionsought in 12 false PPP/EIDL applications
$447,305.98received through the fraud; restitution owed to the SBA
$360,466.24loss caused to the IRS; restitution ordered
5 yearsprobation, including 1 year of home detention

Tax evasion over nine tax years

In addition, Clayborne-Williams attempted to evade paying income tax for the tax years 2011-2014 and 2016-2020, the Justice Department said. In 2022, IRS Collections opened an investigation because she owed significant overdue taxes. Although she had sufficient income to make payments, she sought and obtained “Currently Not Collectible/Unable to Pay” status, and in November 2022 she submitted a false form to the IRS that failed to report bank accounts, credit cards, loans and business information. Her conduct caused a loss of $360,466.24 to the IRS, according to the department.

Judge Zainey sentenced her to five years of probation, to include one year of home detention and 150 hours of community service, and imposed a mandatory $200 special assessment. She was ordered to pay restitution of $447,305.98 to the SBA and $360,466.24 to the IRS. U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service on the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni of the Public Integrity Unit prosecuted the case.