The former assistant city attorney of Atlanta and life advice podcaster has been jailed for seven years after fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in COVID relief loans.
Shelitha Robertson, 62, used the illegally gained funds to splash out on luxuries such as a 10 carat diamond ring, a Rolls Royce and a motorbike.
The former police officer had obtained the money under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal stimulus program that was set up during the pandemic.
Robertson submitted loan applications on behalf of four businesses that she claimed to own and control.
But the loan applications were full of fake figures that falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the companies.
Shelitha Robertson, the former Assistant City Attorney of Atlanta, was sentenced to seven years in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in COVID relief loans
Robertson will be almost 70 by the time she’s released from prison, leaving behind her influencer daughter Brii Renee, who boasts over 600,000 Instagram followers, seen here
Court documents show that Robertson was responsible for providing the payroll of 427 employees, when in fact there were none.
It meant Robertson was fraudulently able to obtain enormous PPP loans that would otherwise have not been the case.
The money was of course intended for legitimate businesses who needed it to survive the pandemic.
Robertson and her co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, had no such qualms about the abuse of such a scheme and went on to submit false tax documents to support the inflated statements within each loan application.
Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring that would have been worth at least $150,000 together with luxury vehicles including the Rolls.
The DOJ also said she transferred funds to a co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, and other family members.
A jury convicted Robertson of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering with the judge sentencing her to seven years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Robertson will be almost 70 by the time she’s released from prison, leaving behind her influencer daughter Brii Renee, who boasts over 600,000 Instagram followers.
It’s quite the fall from grace for Robertson who was Atlanta’s Assistant City Attorney and had been a city cop too
The money was intended for legitimate businesses who needed it to survive the pandemic
The two co-host a podcast together titled ‘Mommy and Me’ in which they discuss ‘navigating life’s challenges’, according to an Apple Podcasts preview.
‘I’m dead broke,’ Robertson said in court before her sentencing.
‘My business is gone. My (law) license is gone. My assets are gone. The only thing I have left is my family and my faith in God.’
She said she was deeply sorry for the impact her conduct has had on her family, wife and community.
‘I’m not that person that tries to take advantage of anybody or any situation,’ she said. ‘I’ve owned up to what I’ve done.’
Snippet from the criminal indictment of Shelitha Robertson that show the fictitious companies into which millions of dollars were paid through government funds
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg said the loss of the $14 million in funds was staggering.
‘It was her level of direction and confidence in being able to commit this level of fraud without being detected that instigated it in the first place,’ Grimberg said in court.
Robertson regularly appeared on her daughter’s podcast where she would advise followers to work hard and not to be motivated by money
As part of her spending, the 62-year-old splashed out on a Rolls Royce car
‘Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency financial relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. ‘
‘It was her level of direction and confidence in being able to commit this level of fraud without being detected that instigated it in the first place,’ Grimberg said in court.
Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring
‘Motivated by greed, Robertson deceptively obtained funds that were designated to provide emergency financial relief to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. ‘
‘Today the defendant in this case was held accountable for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars through the Paycheck Protection Program and using those stolen funds to enrich herself, while small businesses were struggling during the pandemic,’ added Kyle Myles, Special Agent in Charge of the FDIC.
‘The FDIC Office Inspector General remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue and bring to justice those who took advantage of such pandemic relief programs and threatened the integrity of our Nation’s financial institutions.’