Crime & Public Safety
The Covid Paycheck Protection Program was instituted in April 2020.
New Britain Township Police have charged a New Britain Township woman with defrauding the Covid Paycheck Protection Program of more than $20,000 in a case that also involves the FBI, according to police.
Carol A. Miller, 55, of Palace Court, Chalfont, is free on $40,000 unsecured bail following arraignment May 10 on felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication device, unlawful use of a computer, and computer trespassing, and a misdemeanor charge of misapplication of entrusted government property, according to court documents.
Police said on Sept. 2, 2022, an individual contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center to report that Miller had been filing fraudulent PPP loans under the name of an individual she was dating and “had been bragging about the loans that had been filed.”
The reporting party, police said, told the FBI that they were concerned about the situation and reported that Miller had gotten upset with the individual and did not send the $20,000 to him.
Through an FBI investigation, the agency uncovered that Miller had the funds deposited into a Capital One account and that she never owned a business, authorities allege in an affidavit. The FBI forwarded the complaint to New Britain Township Police.
On Aug. 9, 2023, police spoke to Miller regarding the PPP loan, and asked her if she ever applied for the loan, police said. Miller told police she did not apply for it, that she never owned a business, and that she was sending her money to a boyfriend, police said.
Miller told police the money was put in her account, which she then sent to other people via Bitcoin, police allege. She told police that she did not put the money into her bank account and did not know where it came from, police said. Police confirmed with the FBI that the money was deposited into Miler’s account, according to the complaint.
Furthermore, the FBI told police that during a March, 8 2022 interview with Miller, she told agents that $28,0000 was placed in Capital One account in June 2021. She told the FBI that the individual she was dating told her she was going to get a large sum of money into her account and to send it to him, police said.
Miller told authorities that is what she did when the money arrived in her account, and that she never applied for a loan or other Covid relief monies, police said.
Through an investigation, police found that $20,207 was granted to Miller by an LLC on May 26, 2021, according to the affidavit. The LLC, police said, is a Community Development Financial Institution that provides high-quality financial products and services for small businesses, and has since 1980.
During a search warrant on Jan. 18, 2024 on Capital One and on Dec. 18, 2023 on the LLC, police found that $20,207 in PPP loans were deposited into Miller’s bank account, police allege. Furthermore, Capital One confirmed that she received a loan of $20,207 from the CDFI LLC on June 14, 2021, according to the affidavit.
A closeout check for $20,207 was issued to Miiller, police said.
Miller has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 23 at 2 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage.
The PPP loan program, police said, was established by the U.S. government in April 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) to help businesses, self-employed workers, sole proprietors, nonprofits, and tribal businesses to continue paying workers. The PPP was implemented by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Treasury and provides funds to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs and benefits, police said.
Funds can also be used to pay mortgages, rent and utilities, police said.
