Ganell Tubbs pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining nearly two million dollars from government COVID relief funds Friday, according to The Independent.
The money Tubbs acquired was intended to aid struggling small businesses and fortify the economy amid the pandemic, per The Independent.
Tubbs admitted to pretending to be the owner of The Little Piglet Soap Company and Suga Girl Customs to apply for the loans, The Independent reported. The two businesses list Tubss’ personal phone number as their contact information, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State, The Independent reported.
Tubbs submitted an application to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) late April, claiming Suga Girl Customs had paid $1,385,903 in the first quarter of 2020, according to The Independent. She received $1,518,887 in loans from the PPP early May, per The Independent.
Little Rock woman who received nearly $2M in PPP loans pleads guilty to COVID relief fraud. https://t.co/KEed05e7je @FBILittleRock @SBAOIG @TIGTA
— U.S. Attorney EDAR (@EDARNEWS) December 10, 2020
Soon after receiving the funds, Tubbs paid off $8,000 of student loans, The Independent reported. She then spent around $6,000 online at Apple, Sephora, Michael Kors, and more, according to The Independent.
Tubbs submitted a second application for PPP loans, this time for her second made-up business— The Little Piglet Soap Company. She received over $400,000 in loans, The Independent reported.
Diane Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock FBI Field Office, and Cody Hiland, Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, reported the guilty plea Thursday. (RELATED: False Claims In Inmates’ Names Have Stolen Over $1 Billion In Unemployment Aid State-Wide)
“Hardworking Arkansans needed these funds to pay their employees and support their families, and we will not tolerate fraudsters who lie to obtain these funds and then use them for their personal enjoyment,” Hiland said, according to The Independent.
Tubbs pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and all remaining charges were dismissed Thursday, according to The Independent.
