DOJ: Oklahoma Coronavirus Task Force seeing results as cases rise

OKLAHOMA CITY — The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced the Western district of Oklahoma Coronavirus Task Force launched in 2021 is seeing results as multiple cases have come to fruition due to its efforts.

The task force focuses on programs either created or funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) or the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

It was created during the pandemic to detect and punish those who take advantage of federal and state programs.

The task force has produced the following cases as of today:

Sentencings:

• Steven Mesrop of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada; Mirna Mahrous Habib of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Karin Treister of Toronto, Canada; and Dijon Cornelius Shepard of Los Angeles, California were sentenced to serve 104 months in prison and pay around $3.5 million in restitution.
• According to court documents, the defendants all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and related crimes due to involvement in a scheme to purchase event tickets using stolen credit card information.
• Oklahoma law enforcement noticed this when credit card information from 52 stolen cards was used to purchase more than $678,000 worth of Oklahoma State University athletic tickets.
• The defendants also reached out to U.S. businesses selling COVID-19 related supplies during the pandemic.
• For more information about this case, click here.
• Alfred Smith of Miami, Florida was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $246,000 in restitution.
• According to court documents, Smith committed access device fraud using debit cards issued by the unemployment insurance program Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC).
• During the pandemic, Congress provided additional funds to unemployment benefits under the CARES Act and ARPA. Smith used the debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs.
• Andrice Sainvil of Margate, Florida was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $26,000 in restitution.
• According to court documents, Sainvil conspired with others to steal the identities of dozens of Oklahomans, use their social security numbers and apply for fraudulent insurance benefits.
• For more information about this case, click here.

Guilty Pleas:

• Jill Nicole Ford of Edmond, Oklahoma pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering.
• According to public records, Ford allegedly obtained a loan for her business Oliver & Olivia Apparel, Inc. but fraudulently claimed she would use the loan for working capital and payroll and she would not make payments to herself using the funds.
• Ford was found using the funds from the loan to pay for construction on her home and to buy a new SUV.
• Ford faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million for bank fraud and up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for money laundering at sentencing.
• For more information about this case, click here.
• Brian Foster of Norman, Oklahoma pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a financial institution by allegedly providing false income tax information to a bank when applying for a loan in another person’s name.
• Foster faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million at sentencing.
• Randisha Parker of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) when she applied for a loan.
• Parker faces up to two years in prison and a fine up to $5,000 at sentencing.
• Octavio Sanchez of Norman, Oklahoma pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft when he allegedly used the identity of his deceased sister to apply for thousands of dollars in stimulus checks during the pandemic.
• At sentencing, Sanchez faces up to five years in prison, a fine up to $250,000 for conspiracy and a mandatory term of imprisonment of 24 months for aggravated identity theft.

Charged:

• Naquib U. Hatami of Fairfax, Virginia was charged by information for allegedly making a false statement to a bank regarding his company’s payroll and number of employees when he applied for a loan.
• If convicted, Hatami faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

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