Mobile, Ala. ,to be) – a woman who admitted to helping a convicted criminal File a fraud application under the Paycheck Protection Program will not do jail time, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock sentenced 29-year-old Teyana LaToya Wynn Earl of Mobile to a time-bound sentence. He will be supervised by the US Probation Office for three years and will have to pay $13,330 in restitution, along with his co-defendant.
Prosecutors called for leniency in light of the aid provided by Earl in the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a court filing, “Earl’s cooperation significantly helped the United States in providing information relating to CARES Act fraud cases (in particular, cases of the Paycheck Protection Program).” The statements of other witnesses corroborated and may be prosecuted in other fraud cases.”
Earl pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting that he helped Demetrius “Demetric” Richardson with his application for a program created by Congress after he faced the coronavirus, aid, relief and economic Security (CARES) Act was passed. That program allowed companies to get emergency loans – which can be converted into grants in some circumstances – to keep businesses afloat amid the pandemic shutdown.
Richardson, who has a murder case pending in Mobile County Circuit Court, has pleaded guilty He is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing in June. Court records show he applied for funding under the program in April 2021, nearly eight months after his release from federal prison where he served a drug sentence.
Richardson’s application claimed 2019 revenue for the “watchman services” business of $108,099. He received $20,833 from Paycheck Protection Programs, the maximum allowed for a one-person business. Richardson was also in prison when he claimed to have operated a business.
The application came after Mobile Police was accused of shooting Devon Donaldson on Ann Street.
Earl admitted that he began helping with the application after Richardson’s arrest on April 19, 2021.
A recode that Richardson gave to Earl from prison on April 28 last year shows two discussed transfers of pandemic relief funds.
After the government deposited funds into Richardson’s account in May, Earl transferred $10,000 to his credit union account for safekeeping, pursuant to their plea agreement.
According to the documents, from May 14 to July 15, he accessed Richardson’s bank account 21 different times.
Days after the earl’s sentencing, another CARES Act fraud defendant, Leroy Vidal Jackson, also one time sentence found,
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