Transit and court officers sentenced in $770K COVID fraud

In a crackdown on COVID-19 relief fraud, Arthur Cornwall and Sean Williams, former public servants in New York, were sentenced to 18 months in prison for their involvement in a fraudulent scheme that swindled approximately $770,000 from federal disaster relief funds. 

The sentencing, delivered by U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack in the Eastern District of New York, also includes an order for the defendants to return the stolen funds to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Cornwall, who once maintained signals for the New York City Transit Authority, and Williams, a former New York State court officer, admitted to charges of wire fraud in June 2023, following their arrest for misusing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP). 

These programs were established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help small businesses stay afloat during the pandemic. Instead of aiding the economic victims of the crisis, Cornwall and Williams fabricated business entities to receive loans fraudulently and spent the funds on personal expenses, including settling credit card debts and investing in cryptocurrency.