Authorities said on Thursday that a former Huntersville couple is accused of defrauding the federal government of $2 million in bank loans and COVID assistance monies for a moving company.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Antoine Johnson, 48, and Kimberly Maddox, 43, obtained money fraudulently through bank loans, various credit lines, the Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan, and the Paycheck Protection Program.
In this case, a federal indictment was submitted to the Charlotte U.S. District Court.
The claimed fraud allegedly took place between 2018 and 2023, according to Dena King, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to the indictment, Johnson and Maddox were the owners of Pick Up and Go Moving International and PUGMI, a related company. According to the indictment, they lied on loan applications regarding their income, gross revenues, expenses, and personnel totals.
According to the indictment, false financial statements and tax returns were also filed.
Georgia is now home to Johnson and Maddox, per the press announcement from King’s office. They face accusations of wire fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, and fabricating claims to a financial institution. They can be sentenced to up to 30 years in jail and a $1 million fine if found guilty.
The case under investigation by the FBI is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassy Cole.
The announcement was made one day after Charlotte resident Evan Perez was found guilty of fraud involving $720,000 in COVID relief monies and given a two-year prison sentence. September saw him enter a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Approximately thirty people have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina for scamming government funding schemes thus far.
