Stockbridge woman has to pay back $1.8 million for COVID-19 loan fraud

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga — A Stockbridge, Georgia, woman was sentenced to more than four years in prison for committing nearly $5 million in disaster-related loan applications in connection with COVID-19.

According to court documents, Nikki Mitchum, 45, tried to receive disaster-related loan benefits by using Small Business Administration (SBA) sponsored Economic Injury Disaster loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

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Nikki Mitchum and her co-conspirators, including Malik Mitchum, 27, and Jenna Mitchum, 27, of Hampton, submitted fraudulent claims for government benefits in the name of a fake business they said was struggling as a result of the pandemic.

Between March 2020 and May 2021, around 13 fraudulent applications for pandemic-related loan benefits were submitted using Nikki Mitchum’s information that contained false statements and incorrect info about their income, employment, and claimed businesses.

Nikki Mitchum is connected with 17 fraudulent loan applications submitted by other co-conspirators who paid kickbacks in an approximate amount of $204,000 to the companies owned and operated by Nikki Mitchum.

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Malik and Jenna Mitchum previously pleaded guilty and were linked to more than $5.5 million in intended loss and caused approximately $1.4 million in actual loss to the United States and participating financial institutions. Malik Mitchum was sentenced to 51 months in prison and Jenna Mitchum was sentenced to 48 months in prison for their respective roles in the conspiracy.

Nikki Mitchum agreed to pay approximately $1.8 million in restitution to the United States for losses from her role in the conspiracy and is linked with intended fraud loss of more than $5.8 million.

These programs that were defrauded were designed to provide support for small businesses during the pandemic.

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