Veterans Affairs Nursing Assistant Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining PPP Loan

BOSTON - A Veterans Affairs Nursing Assistant has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to frequently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.

Wigenie Francois, 44, of Brockton, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Dec. 11, 2025. U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for March 11, 2026. Francois was charged in October 2025.

In April 2021, Francois submitted an application seeking a PPP loan. In the application, Francois made false claims regarding gross income purportedly earned from a sole proprietorship. To support these false claims, Francois attached fraudulent tax documents as part of the application. The PPP loan application was approved and Francois received $20,833. Francois used that money on personal expenses. However, in March 2024, Francois submitted a loan forgiveness application that falsely claimed the entire $20,833 was spent on payroll. Based on the misrepresentation, the entire loan was forgiven.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.