Florida woman charged with fraud in alleged PPP loan scheme

FLORIDA – Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) have arrested a Tallahassee woman for felony fraud in an alleged Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan scheme, the FDLE has announced.

Takira Janae Watson, 25, of Tallahassee, has been charged with one count of organized scheme to defraud, a second-degree felony, the FDLE said.

According to the FDLE, the investigation began when it was discovered that the information on Watson’s application for a pair of PPP loans reportedly did not match those she had filed with the state for her business.

The federal PPP program was designed to help small business owners who were in business before 2020 that suffered financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While Watson stated on her PPP loan application that she opened Good Line Credit Service LLC as a sole proprietor in 2019, records show the actual registration date was in November 2020, just four days before she filed for the first PPP loan, the FDLE said.

The investigation reportedly showed that, after receiving and depositing her first loan into her personal bank account, she applied for and received an additional PPP loan based on a fraudulent tax document she provided. Agents said that she received a total of $35,833 in federal funds through her fraudulent applications.

Both of Watson’s PPP loans were forgiven by the program before the fraud’s discovery, the FDLE said.

Watson was booked into the Leon County Jail on $2,500 bond. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, Second Judicial Circuit.