An Atlantic County man whoadmitted lying about owning two businesses so he get $1.3 million in COVID-19 loans from the government in the early days of the pandemic was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Jeremy Earley, 42, of Egg Harbor Township, pleaded guilty last year to engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey.
Earley paid a woman, Rhonda Thomas, of Sicklerville, $400,000 to submit a pair of fraudulent loan applications for a pair of phony businesses — D2R Agency LLC in July 2020 and More Life Records LLC in February 2021, the office said.
The application submitted by Thomas claimed both businesses had hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly payroll expenses when neither had any employees, authorities said.
Thomas previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and money laundering and was sentenced to five years in prison, investigators said.
Earley received a $362,500 loan in July 2020 for the D2R Agency and a $956,250 loan for More Life Records LLC, the office said. A portion of each was sent to Thomas.
He also wired $85,000 of the proceeds out of a bank account he controlled after being advised by federal agents not to spend the money because it constituted proceeds of bank fraud, the release stated.
Earley also has a home in Lilburn, Georgia, federal prosecutors said.
Last year, Thomas received a 5-year sentence.
The loans were part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which took effect in late March 2020. The loans were intended to be used by small businesses to cover expenses such as payroll, lease payments, mortgage interest and utilities.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
