On May 24, 2023, in the District of Oregon, Rashida Williams was arraigned for one count of wire fraud. Williams devised a scheme to submit fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and defrauded financial institutions of more than $191,000.  

According to the court documents, from February 2021 continuing until March 2021, Williams applied for and obtained PPP loans from two different financial institutions using false borrower information. As the manager and registered agent of Luvnlabels, Williams obtained an employer identification number (EIN) on June 10, 2020. In the EIN application, Williams claimed the business started May 1, 2018, and did not expect to have any employees over the 12 months following the application. Williams did not file tax returns on behalf of Luvnlabels for 2019 or 2020 nor did she issue to any employees an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. In support of the two fraudulent applications, Williams purported Luvnlabels was established August 19, 1987, employed nine people, and had an average monthly payroll of $70,410 and $62,041, respectively.  Williams submitted fraudulent IRS Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, with the applications.  

If convicted, Williams could receive up to 20 years’ imprisonment.  

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D. Or., Docket Entry, May 24, 2023; and D. Or., Indict., May 9, 2023.