Federal prosecutors say a wide-ranging COVID relief fraud scheme led to convictions for two people who helped secure more than $9.1 million in fake Paycheck Protection Program loans, with investigators tying fabricated payrolls, false tax documents, and kickbacks to the scheme.
A federal jury in Delaware found that a South Carolina man and an Oregon woman conspired with a Wilmington tax preparer to submit fraudulent PPP applications on the names of shell companies. Court evidence at trial showed dozens of applications that claimed six- and seven-figure payrolls for firms that had no real employees. The scheme pulled millions in emergency funds away from legitimate businesses that needed help during the pandemic.
Devlon Porter, 51, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after prosecutors say he paid the preparer to file false paperwork. Authorities say Porter received more than $287,000 from the scheme and funneled over $50,000 in kickbacks to the preparer. He did not repay the funds and now faces statutory maximum penalties tied to both convictions.
Amber Baldwin, 56, was also convicted after a PPP application listed a shell company she owned as having an annual payroll over $1 million, a claim investigators say relied on fake tax records. Baldwin obtained over $280,000 through that application and allegedly paid more than $95,000 to co-conspirators as kickbacks. The jury found her guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the false claim.
Prosecutors described the PPP as an emergency program created to preserve jobs during a national crisis, and they portrayed the defendants as exploiting that program for personal gain. “The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide an economic lifeline to American workers and small businesses during a historic crisis,” said Benjamin L. Wallace, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. “Instead of using these emergency funds for their intended purpose, Devlon Porter and Amber Baldwin exploited a public-relief program to line their own pockets. This verdict demonstrates that those who attempt to defraud federal programs will be held accountable. We remain deeply committed to protecting taxpayer dollars, and we thank our partners at the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation for their exceptional work in dismantling this nationwide scheme.”
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation took the lead on the probe, with agents pointing to a pattern of stolen identities, fabricated payroll totals, and sham business documents across state lines. “I am proud of the diligent investigative work which led to these convictions,” said FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul. “Devlon Porter, Amber Baldwin and their co-conspirators stole from American taxpayers, treating pandemic relief like a personal slush fund. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to identify, investigate and hold accountable criminals defrauding critical government programs and abusing public trust.”
Investigators emphasized that the fraud used fake tax forms and invented employee lists to justify large loan amounts, and court filings cited dozens of fraudulent applications connected to the defendants. The Wilmington tax preparer at the center of the scheme prepared applications for companies that, according to evidence, had no payrolls to support the claimed figures. Those phony forms are what allowed the defendants to receive disbursements they had no legal right to keep.
Statutory maximum sentences loom large on paper: Porter faces up to 30 years for the bank-fraud conspiracy count and up to 20 years for the money-laundering conspiracy count, while Baldwin faces a maximum of 20 years. Sentences in federal cases commonly fall below the statutory ceilings, and a district court judge will weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors before imposing punishment. The convictions, however, mark a clear legal milestone and expose the scale of effort investigators say went into exploiting pandemic relief programs.
Philadelphia Field Office Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty reiterated the enforcement message, warning that law enforcement will pursue those who abuse government programs. “Devlon Porter and Jady Solano deliberately carried out a scheme to defraud a program that was designed to assist people during the pandemic,” he said. “This verdict serves as a warning to others that IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners stand ready to investigate those who attempt to fleece the government.”
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan C. Williamson handling trial work alongside U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace. Agents from the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the FBI’s Wilmington Resident Agency in Baltimore carried out the investigative work that fed the prosecutions. The convictions close one chapter in a broader federal crackdown on pandemic relief fraud that continues to produce charges and indictments nationwide.
