On October 4, 2022, in the Western District of Tennessee, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee Fatina Hewitt pled guilty to wire fraud.  Hewitt devised a scheme to defraud the United States and submitted false loan applications under the Economic Disaster Injury Loan (EIDL) Program.

According to the court documents, Hewitt was a Management and Program Assistant with the IRS Information Technology division in Memphis, Tennessee.  Beginning in or around June 2020, and continuing through April 2021, Hewitt submitted three fraudulent EIDL Program loan applications knowing the businesses neither employed the number of individuals identified nor received the gross annual revenue reported.  In total, Hewitt obtained $28,900 in loan benefits and used the money to travel and purchase luxury items. 

At sentencing, Hewitt could receive a maximum term of 20 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and potentially pay a fine of up to $250,000.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available document: W.D. Tenn., Plea Agr., filed Oct. 4, 2022.