A Michigan man was sentenced on October 20, 2026, to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the U.S. Department of Justice said. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall imposed the sentence in Wilmington, Delaware.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, District of Delaware

According to court documents, Carl Lawrence, 50, of Kentwood, Michigan, ran a business-consulting firm. Over the internet, Lawrence met Jady Solano, a Wilmington tax preparer, and the two conspired to defraud the PPP, a COVID-19 relief program designed to safeguard jobs during the pandemic. Lawrence referred his consulting clients to Solano, who prepared fraudulent applications on their behalf, and Lawrence also personally falsified documents for inclusion in the applications, the department said.

The money

In total, Lawrence assisted with 29 fraudulent applications, resulting in more than $4.7 million (yaani about 47 lakh dollars) in wrongful loan disbursements. Lawrence personally made nearly $450,000 (yaani about 4.5 lakh dollars) through the scheme, all of which he has been ordered to forfeit. The total scheme led by Lawrence and Solano obtained approximately $9.1 million (yaani about 91 lakh dollars) in pandemic relief funds, according to the Justice Department.

70 monthsfederal prison sentence
$9.1 milliontotal scheme (yaani about 91 lakh dollars)
29fraudulent applications Lawrence assisted with
$4,736,088.37restitution ordered

The scheme's scale is corroborated by the Internal Revenue Service's account of Solano's own sentencing: the IRS said Solano prepared 62 fraudulent applications for shell companies with no operations or employees, resulting in more than $9.1 million in wrongful disbursements, personally received nearly $1.4 million, and was sentenced on July 28, 2025, to 80 months in prison. A separate Justice Department release on co-defendant Brigette Miller-Levy's 24-month sentence in July 2026 also describes the same $9.1 million scheme led by Solano and Lawrence.

Source: Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (Solano sentencing)

Eight charged, and what officials said

Across two charging instruments, eight members of the scheme have been charged, the Justice Department said: Solano was sentenced to 80 months, Shatoya Moss to 18 months, Miller-Levy to 24 months and Marvin Edwards to 16 months; Amber Baldwin and Devlon Porter were convicted at trial and await sentencing; and Anthony McKinzy was indicted and remains at large after absconding, according to the department's table. For an indicted defendant not yet adjudicated guilty, the allegation is merely an accusation and he is presumed innocent, the department notes.

"Stealing taxpayer money is always a serious crime," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace. "But it is particularly serious when that money was meant to keep hardworking Americans employed during a pandemic." FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul said every dollar Lawrence stole will be forfeited, and IRS Criminal Investigation Philadelphia Field Office Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty said the sentencing holds Lawrence accountable. Agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI Baltimore Field Office's Wilmington Resident Agency investigated the case; U.S. Attorney Wallace and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan C. Williamson prosecuted it.

Upon Lawrence's release from prison, he will serve three years of supervised release. The court ordered restitution of $4,736,088.37 (yaani about 47 lakh dollars) and a forfeiture money judgement of $447,061.77 (yaani about 4.5 lakh dollars), the Justice Department said.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, District of Delaware (Miller-Levy sentencing in the same scheme)