A Mesa couple, Jason Coleman and Kimberly Coleman, made their initial appearance in federal court on a 62-count indictment charging them with Conspiracy, Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Transactional Money Laundering. The Colemans were indicted along with other residents of the Phoenix area in connection with a $23 million fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan scheme.
- Willie Mitchell aka Blu Mitchell, 40, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Jason Nolte, 39, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Sean Swaringer, 56, of Peoria, Arizona.
- Vanessa Swaringer, 54, of Peoria, Arizona.
- Toni Richardson, 52, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Keenya Williams, 40, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Darrell Lieteau, 56, of Phoenix, Arizona.
The nine defendants are accused of then using those PPP funds to purchase vehicles, properties, and other luxurious items.
According to the indictments, from April 2020 through April 2021, the conspirators in this scheme submitted or assisted in submitting PPP loan applications on behalf of 18 businesses, seeking loans between $100,000 and $2.2 million for each company.
In the loan applications, the defendants certified that each business was in operation and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes, that the funds would be used to retain workers or make mortgage, lease, or utility payments, and that the information provided in the loan applications was true and accurate.
According to the indictment charging Jason and Kimberly Coleman, the married couple conspired to prepare and submit approximately two dozen false and fraudulent PPP loan applications in an attempt to receive more than $30 million in PPP funds. The Colemans were successful in ten of those submissions and fraudulently obtained more than $13 million in PPP funds.
According to the eight other connected indictments, seven defendants conspired to submit eight false and fraudulent PPP loan applications and received more than $10 million in PPP funds. The individuals named in the indictments include: