Man Sentenced to 5 Years’ imprisonment for Covid-19 Fraud

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a scheme that resulted in a $148,000 fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) being issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Jason Roath, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 60 months' imprisonment based upon his guilty plea to theft of government money relating to a scheme to fraudulently obtain and spend a COVID loan guaranteed by the SBA under the CARES Act.

According to court documents, a fraudulent application for an EIDL was submitted using the name and identifiers of a U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer. All information on the loan application was false - the name, address, business, number of employees, and revenue. The application directed the loan to be deposited in Roath's bank account.

On Aug. 5, 2020, the $148,000 loan was deposited into Roath's account. That same day, Roath withdrew $500 in cash from an ATM and transferred $2,500 to his debit cards. Two days later, on Aug. 7, 2020, Roath used the EIDL proceeds to rent a room and gamble at the Ameristar Casino. He also bought fast food, paid past due utility bills, and put money on debit cards. On Aug. 9, 2020, Roath's bank froze the account due to his spending being inconsistent with business spending.

Roath had 6 prior felony convictions and 17 prior misdemeanor convictions for theft, bad checks, and forgery dating back to 1994.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by Naval Criminal Investigation Service and the Independence, Missouri Police Department.