An Eastern Kentucky woman has been indicted for filing $70,000 worth of fraudulent COVID-19 business relief funds.
A federal grand jury has charged Madison Balo, 27, with one count of conspiracy, one count of theft of government money, and seven counts of wire fraud. Her accomplice, Kyler Sullivan, 21, was indicted on counts of conspiracy, theft, and one count of wire fraud.
State court records show Balo and Sullivan were living in Letcher County when the fraud was committed. Balo has also recently lived in Pike County.
In May 2020, Balo allegedly applied for a $10,000 loan for Sullivan, using false information. She sought a further $60,000 for her home business, fabricating information such as gross revenue and business costs.
Balo and Sullivan also allegedly stole a $1,200 COVID-19 relief check issued to someone else.
The two were indicted on Nov. 4, with the most severe charges carrying maximum sentences of 20 years.
The indictment does not disclose the total amount of money the two stole.
There have been many coronavirus-related acts of fraud around the country since the implementation of COVID-19 relief funding. In March 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice recorded 450 individuals charged with attempts to obtain over $570 million through COVID-19 relief fraud.
“We will not allow American citizens or the critical benefits programs that have been created to assist them to be preyed upon by those seeking to take advantage of this national emergency,” Brian M. Boynton, acting assistant attorney general, said in the Department of Justice press release regarding the cumulative fraud.
n a separate case in June, Balo and Sullivan were charged in Pike County with trafficking methamphetamines. According to a police citation, officers responded to a call saying the two were staying at a Pikeville motel following a trespassing order. When they arrived, Sullivan told them they had “nothing to hide,” but a police search yielded a bag of meth on a scale, as well as measuring spoons, baggies, and other telltale signs of drug activity.
